2021 Optimist World Championship officially open
by Optimist Worlds 2021 Riva del Garda 1 Jul 20:09 BST
30 June - 10 July 2021
The president of the IODA, Kevin Whitcraft, officially declared open the 2021 Optimist World Championship in Riva del Garda, an event that starting from tomorrow will keep the young sailors busy with eight consecutive days of racing.
The ceremony was strongly dedicated to the memory of Norberto Foletti, President of the Italian Optimist Class who passed away a few weeks ago, who fought to ensure that, eight years after the last edition, the Optimist World Championship again returned to Italy.
In addition to the IODA President, among the speakers there have been the mayor of Riva del Garda Cristina Santi, the president of CONI Trentino, Paola Mora, the new secretary of the Italian Optimist Class Association, Walter Cavallucci, the president of the Italian Sailing Federation, Francesco Ettorre, who underlined how everything in the world of sailing begins with the Optimist, and the president of the Organizing Committee, as well as of Fraglia Vela Riva, Alfredo Vivaldelli.
The racing for the almost three hundred young participants from 58 nations will start tomorrow at 1pm. After three days of qualifying, the teams will be involved in two days of Team Racing and on Wednesday 7 July the final days will begin, determining the 2021 Optimist World Championship on Friday July 9th.
The 2021 Optimist World Championship is hosted by Fraglia Vela Riva in collaboration with IODA, AICO, Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, North Lake Garda and Trentino.
Società Velica di Barcola and Grignano and Barcolana are partners of the Optimist World Championship. The largest regatta in the world supports the event as an opportunity to enhance the activities of the youngest and to promote the Barcolana Young, the Optimist regatta which every year has the task of inaugurating the ten days of Barcolana at sea, scheduled for 2-3 October, 2021, in Trieste. Barcolana and the Optimist World Championship share the M&N brand, which has chosen the two events for its great return to the world of Italian sailing.
All updates on the racing will be published on the Optimist World Championship 2021 website at 2021worlds.optiworld.org