ILCA 4 Youth World Championship 2026 in Aarhus - Day 4
by Agustín Argüelles 7 Aug 23:26 BST
1-9 August 2026
After Wednesday's racing was cut short by increasing winds and the entire fleet remained ashore on Thursday, sailors were finally able to return to Aarhus Bay today for Day 4 of the 2026 ILCA 4 Youth World Championship.
Three races were scheduled, with the first start at 11.00. Conditions had eased compared with the previous days, with a westerly breeze of around 17-20 knots as racing got under way, which was happy news for the sailors.
"After not racing at all yesterday, I was really happy to get back on the water today. We had two races, which was great after all the waiting," said Germany's Akin Hammas.
"The wind wasn't too strong when we first went out, but it kept getting stronger during the day. By the second race, the conditions were definitely more challenging," he added.
Racing on the BRAVO course, where both girls and boys fleets are sailing, remained largely on schedule, while delays on ALFA meant only two races could be completed. The Green fleet did manage to complete a third race on BRAVO, but as the other boys' fleets were unable to sail their third race, the result was discarded to keep the qualifying series balanced.
Principal Race Officer Manel Llige explained that, since this is a youth championship, the Race Committee also aims to avoid keeping sailors on the water for too long.
"Today sailors had already been out there for more than six hours, so we decided to complete only two races because it's a youth class and it is a long time to stay on the water in this category," said Llige.
With today's racing completed, the girls have now completed six races in the Qualifying Series, while the boys have completed five. Both have passed the minimum requirement of four races, meaning the Qualifying Series is officially complete.
The girls' fleet will now be divided into Gold and Silver, while the boys will compete in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald fleets when the Final Series begins on Saturday.
Event website: 2026ilca4youth.ilca-worlds.org