Road to Paris 2024/Sailing: Final opportunity to qualify additional Olympic spots at the Last Chance

Road to Paris 2024/Sailing © Sail Canada

A total of 10 Canadian sailors will take part in the Last Chance Regatta in Hyères, France, April 21-27, which will be the last opportunity to qualify spots for countries at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

As of today, Canada has qualified in the ILCA 6, 49er, 49erFX and women's kiteboarding events.

In ILCA 7, Ryan Anderson (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS), Luke Ruitenberg (St. Margaret's Bay, N.S.-RNSYS) and Norman Struthers (Toronto, ON-RCYC) will aim to finish amongst the top three (3) countries that have not already qualified in order to earn one of the last spots available. In the event of a successful outcome, Luke Ruitenberg would represent the country following the Canadian qualification process which ended at the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta.

In men's kiteboarding, Mac Morrin (Kingston, ON) will need to finish amongst the top five (5) countries not already qualified to earn a spot for the country. Morrin is the only Canadian who took part in the first Canadian qualification process event at the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta.

In iQFoil, Nikola Girke (West Vancouver, B.C.) and Cyrus Lai (Vancouver, B.C.) have prequalified to be nominated for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following the Canadian qualification process which ended at the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta. They will now need to qualify the country at the Last Chance Regatta by finishing in the top five (5) in the women's and men's competitions, respectively, to qualify to be nominated for Paris.

Finally, the teams comprised of Galen Richardson (Toronto, ON-RCYC) & Madeline Gillis (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS) as well as of Caspar Lenz Anderson (Calgary, AB- CYC) & Coralie Vittecoq (Montreal West, QC-Pointe-Claire YC) will be in action in Hyères. Richardson and Gillis are in the lead as part of the Canadian qualification process following the first of two events. To get a spot for Paris, Canada will need to finish amongst the top three (3) not already qualified at the Last Chance Regatta.

For the Last Chance Regatta, athletes have been selected by Sail Canada following spots attributed by World Sailing on the basis of performances at each class World Championships, with a maximum of three representatives per country, on athletes' performances as part of the Canadian qualification process for Paris and on their interest to take part in the Last Chance Regatta.

If Canada doesn't qualify additional spots at the Last Chance Regatta, another potential opportunity may come through World Sailing's spots reallocation process.

Two competitions in one

The Last Chance Regatta, which is reserved for countries that have not already qualified for the Olympic Games in each event, will be held simultaneously with the French Olympic Week, a competition that serves as preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In ILCA 6, Sarah Douglas (Toronto, ON-ABYC) and Clara Gravely (Toronto, ON-ABYC) will be in action, while in women's kiteboarding, Emily Bugeja (Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC), Nataliya Leshko (Toronto, ON) and Marie-Ève Mayrand (Calgary, AB, and from Quebec City, QC) will be the Canadian representatives.

Following the Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, Sarah Douglas qualified to be nominated for Paris 2024 Olympic Games in ILCA 6, while Emily Bugeja leads the Canadian qualification process after the first of two qualifying events. Canada has already secured an Olympic spot in women's kiteboarding and the athlete qualified to be nominated in this event will be known following the Formula Kite World Championships in May.

At the French Olympic Week, all medallists in ILCA 6 from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the last three world championships will be in action, as will be the women's kiteboarding medallists from the 2022 and 2023 world championships.

How Canadian athletes can qualify themselves for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

For each class in which Canada qualifies a spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, except in 49erFX, athletes and teams can qualify themselves by being the athlete/team with the lowest score combined position from the 2024 World Championships in their respective classes and the 2024 Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta, added together, with selection being based on a sailing scoring system (lowest score first).

If there is a tie, the athlete/team in the higher position (based on the sailing scoring system) at the 2024 Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta will qualify to be nominated. If an event is cancelled, it will be replaced by the classes' 2024 European Championships.

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee's Team Selection Committee after it has received nominations from all National Sport Organizations.

Full qualification processes for countries to qualify spots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the manner in which Canadians can qualify themselves to be nominated for the Paris 2024 Team Canada squad, as well as the full qualification calendar are available at www.sailing.ca/sc_event/2024-olympic-games.