Please select your home edition
Edition
Ocean Safety 2023 - New Identity - LEADERBOARD

International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone, Australia - Preview

by IOM Worlds 21 Oct 2024 10:48 BST 20-28 October 2024
International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone, Australia © IOM Worlds

Racing starts tomorrow for the International One Metre World Championships in Gladstone Australia. The competitors have spent the past two days measuring their boats and practising on the course. And now the racing starts in earnest.

To put on the best World Championship event they can and nearly all of the 35,000 locals have tried to help in some way. Racing is being held at the Spinnaker Park basin. Infrastructure has been brought in to cover every need of the competitors and officials. And for the first time ever at a World Championship, no one has said you should have been here last week. Conditions are looking fantastic.

Racing is being conducted over 6 days, Tuesday to next Monday with a lay day on Friday. All of the racing is to be livestreamed on Youtube for free throughout the week and will be hosted by a team of expert commentators. Please note, you don't have to subscribe to a profile. That is a scam. There is a webpage where you can find information. www.iomworlds.com

The IOM is a dynamic highly tuneable racing boat. They are built to a box rule with very strict measurements which allows development and evolution, but equality. Competition promises to be intense with the current and the past World Champions here, plus a fleet of outstanding challengers. You must qualify to attend the IOM Worlds, each region selecting their best sailors to send. The fleet consists of elite sailors from all corners of our sport. World Champions, National Champions, Pro sailors, Round the World Sailors

There are no restrictions when sailing IOMs' neither age, size, language or handicap constrain your performance. Plus, they are easy to transport, so it is easy for competitors to attend, (if selected). The event in Gladstone is fully subscribed, with competitors from 20 different countries.

It is important to note, racing is conducted utilising HMS Fleet racing for scoring. There are a maximum of 76 boats. They are split into 5 fleets. One race is when all five fleets are sailed and decided. For the first race, the fleets are decided at random. Your position in that heat determines which fleet you sail in next. The top fifth of a heat go to fleet A, the second fifth to fleet B and so on. So when you start Race 2 if you finish last in fleet E you will score 76 points. If you are first in Fleet A you will get 1 point. Also, if you finish in the top 6 in your Fleet - you don't score (yet), you get promoted and will now sail in next Fleet up. If you are in the bottom 6 you do score, but also get demoted. This makes finishing in the top six of your fleet vital and with it will bring intense racing.

Great racing, great location, great conditions and great coverage. What more could you want. The organisers even got the Cup to finish before, and the Vendee to start after. Tune in and enjoy.

Related Articles

IOM Eastern District Team Event at Norwich
A fantastic day of competitive radio sailing The Eastern District Team Event held on 27th April 2025 at the Norwich Model Yacht Club (NMYC) proved to be a fantastic day of competitive radio sailing, with eighteen skippers from six clubs across the region battling it out in a lively series of races. Posted on 28 Apr
Scottish Wooden Hulled IOM Championship
Tight racing in light winds on Forfar Loch The weather forecast was not good, very light SSE going south after midday - not the best direction at Forfar Loch which is aligned WSW-ENE. As it turned out, there was enough east in the breeze to set a short conventional windward-leeward course. Posted on 28 Apr
IOM National Championship at Lincoln
Easter weekend chosen to avoid the weed The International One Meter radio sailing boat is raced all over the world and wherever you go the fleets are fiercely competitive. The UK Nationals is the pinnacle of our calendar and all the top contenders were out to gain valuable ranking points. Posted on 23 Apr
IOM European Championship in Rogoznica, Croatia
Robert Matulja clinches gold in a highly competitive fleet of 98 participants Croatia once again solidified its prominent position in the International One Metre (IOM) class, hosting a truly exceptional European Championship in Rogoznica. Posted on 18 Apr
Huntingdon Radio Yacht Club IOM Open
33 entries for round 2 of the IOM East District Series Huntingdon RYC hosted round 2 of the IOM East District Series on Saturday 5th April and were delighted to have 33 entries which included 5 skippers from outside of the district. Posted on 7 Apr
Record-breaking IOM Europeans in Croatia
100 boats at the start in Rogoznica After the European Championship in 2018 and the World Championship in 2022, Sailing Club Val from Šibenik will once again host the European Championship for the International One Meter class. Posted on 6 Apr
IOM Ranking 1 & 2 at Wykeham Water
55 skippers race at Scarborough Model Yacht Club Scarborough Model Yacht Club welcomed 55 skippers to Wykeham Lake to start the season of 2025 ranking events which this year has a little extra emphasis with the forthcoming World Championships to be held at Datchet Water in May 2026. Posted on 22 Mar
IOM Winter Series Round 11 at Lincoln
A great morning's racing at Scotland farm A very still morning greeted the skippers at Scotland farm with not a breath of wind at 0930, but after a short delay the breeze filled in from the forecasted direction. Posted on 2 Mar
IOM Midland District Series at Lincoln round 10
14 skippers enjoyed a steady Easterly Another great day of racing at Lincoln. 14 skippers arrived with a steady Easterly blowing, OODs Mick and Rob arrived early and the course was set on the South bank and was to be a perfect beat and run course that would certainly stretch our legs. Posted on 16 Feb
IOM Midland District Series at Lincoln round 2
Wow, what a day for radio racing! Wow what a day for Radio Racing - the weather god's delivered and the 30 skipper's took full advantage, some travelling for up to 3 hours to compete in what one would say was a very hot fleet. Posted on 3 Feb