ILCA-4s: Navigating the Major Events for 2021

In hindsight, 2020 was a year of very little choice international events for the UK ILCA-4 fleet, due of course to the Pandemic.

Although 2021 has had a slow start, plans are afoot for the summer season at least, to offer a considerable range of events for our sailors.

In this article our ILCA-4 rep provides guidance on how to plan for the events and navigate the entry qualification rules and calendar deadlines, including news of the creation of the Special 50th Anniversary Commemorative Regatta.

A number of deadlines are approaching, but parents and sailors are advised to keep these under review as the pandemic evolves.

Sailingfast Ladder Series

Our ladder series events are scheduled to recommence as soon as pandemic restrictions permit.

Details can be found here [Notice of Sailingfast Youth Series]

Eurilca 4 Championships

This year, the ILCA-4 Eurilcas will be held Friday 23 rd July to Friday 30th July in Travemunde Germany.

This is a restricted entry event, and the UKLA will be ranking sailors using our rolling ladder ranking system, as documented in our policy document: UKLA Qualification for U21 and Youth Feb Update. The current rankings are published here ILCA 4/4.7 Rolling Ladder/Youth Series results.

The applications for the first round of offers of a place at the event closes on 23 May, however the the UK has an allotment of 23 places in the boys fleet and 8 places in the girls fleet, and applications are encouraged even if your ladder ranking is still developing, as the rules permit the UKLA to exercise discretion in ranking applications.

Entry and event information can be found here

ILCA 4 Worlds

This year the ILCA-4 World Championships will take place in Dun Laoghaire, near Dublin Ireland, from

Saturday 7 August to Saturday 14 August.

Applications for first round entries close on 23 March, with first round entry offers scheduled to take place on 6 April. At this stage, the UK has 7 places in the boys fleet allocated to it, and 5 girls; and the UKLA’s ladder ranking system will again be used to guide the rankings, as documented above.

However being a neighbouring country, the UK has a much larger targeted allotment of places at the event – 30 sailors in aggregate across the boys and girls fleets. Therefore, if you miss the entry deadline, or if you are not selected in the first round, you should still apply for the second round of offers, for which the application closing date is 7 July.

RYA Youth National Championships

This event is scheduled to take place on 6, 7 August in Plymouth, and is part of our Ladder Series.

UKLA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Regatta & National Championships

Coincident with the last two days of the ILCA-4 world championships, the UKLA will be holding a special 50th anniversary commemorative regatta at the WPNSA. People who do not participate at the ILCA-4 worlds will be able to participate at this event, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday 14th and 15th August.

Immediately afterwards, on Monday 16th the ILCA-4 national championships will commence, to conclude on Wednesday 18th August. This means that sailors who do participate at the ILCA-4 Worlds will also be able to participate at the UKLA national championships, provided that they can travel from Dublin to Weymouth on Sunday 15th August.

The notices of races for these two events, together with the deadlines for entry, will be advertised soon.

Continuation of Ladder Qualifier Events

Pandemic permitting, ladder qualification events recommence on 25 September in Sunderland.

Continued participation in the ladder will likely be important to facilitate ranking for international events in 2022.