Australians ready for ILCA European showdown

by Lisa Darmanin / Australian Sailing Team 11 Aug 02:03 BST 11-16 August 2025

The fleet prepares for ILCA Europeans © Thom Touw

The 2025 ILCA Senior European Championships & Open European Trophy is set to get under way at the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club in Marstrand, Sweden with 11 Australians ready to take to the start line.

A total of 288 sailors from 45 countries will compete across the ILCA 7, ILCA 6 Women, and ILCA 6 Men classes, with this year also marking the introduction of the Under 23 category in the Olympic classes.

It's already been a standout year for the Australian ILCA squads, Mara Stransky and Zac Littlewood kicked off 2025 in style by winning the Australian Championships.

Zoe Thomson claimed victory in the ILCA6 at the Trofeo Princesa Sofía in Palma, while Littlewood added an ILCA7 World Championship bronze medal in China to his resume. In the ILCA 6, Elyse Ainsworth secured an impressive 7th place at the World Championships, with Casey Imeneo performing strongly to finish 6th overall at Kiel Week.

On top of these strong results, the national squads completed a crucial training block on the LA 2028 Olympic waters, where Ethan McAullay finished 6th in the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta.

Zac Littlewood ahead of ILCA Europeans - photo © Michael Blackburn

Twenty-four-year-old Zac Littlewood sees this week as another chance to test himself against the best in the ILCA7 fleet, "This will probably be the third regatta this year where we've had the majority of the fleet together," he said. "A lot of Europeans of course, as it's their peak event, just as it is for us, so looking forward to a pretty competitive week."

Preparation in Sweden has been varied, "In training we had two days blown out because it was too windy while all other training days, we've been hiking in at least 15 knots," Littlewood explained. "Hoping that kind of continues into the regatta, but we're probably looking at more of a mixed week."

In the ILCA6 Elyse Ainsworth is equally motivated to close out the year on a high, "It's been a long season, so looking forward to finishing it off strong and consolidating all the learnings from the year," she shared. "It looks like it's going to be a mix of conditions, and the forecast is promising for getting the full schedule in on time - hopefully that wasn't a jinx."

Australian Sailing Team Technical Director Michael Blackburn explained the level of competition ahead, "Both Men's and Women's fleets are looking very strong, including all the medallists from the 2025 Worlds," he said.

"It's shaping up as a mixed week weather-wise, with some stronger winds to start with, then some lighter winds mid-regatta and potentially finishing stronger again - a good all-round test."

Racing kicks off on August 11 and will run for six days, with three qualifying days before the fleet splits for finals. With world-class fleets and a varied forecast, it's shaping up to be one of the year's most competitive events on the ILCA calendar.