The next sailing year (HKODA 2023-2024) will be starting in November. So that you can plan ahead we would like to provide you with full details of the ranking regattas and the selection process for IODA events for the upcoming sailing year. 

A sailor eligible for ranking and selection must be both an HKODA member and a Hong Kong resident (e.g. attending school in Hong Kong).

As usual, HKODA will have allocated slots at IODA World (5), European (4) and Asian (10) championships. New for this year, we have requested additional slots for Hong Kong for at least 4 sailors at each of the IODA African, North American and South American championships. While these slots can only be confirmed by IODA at a later stage, we do believe this will create opportunities for more sailors to participate and make the most of these large IODA regattas.

There will be a single ranking process for IODA World, European and Asian championships and it will consist of the following regattas:

1. A decision on whether or not to hold the SSR in 2024 will be taken by 1st December 2023.

Note that as per IODA rules, a sailor cannot participate in both Worlds and Euros. Sailors will therefore have to choose and priority will be given based on rankings.

The committee decided to align the Europeans, Asians and World selection as the committee assessed that the time between HHYC Regatta and the start of the Europeans is enough for the team to prepare for the event. However, given the time frame, the coach selection for the Europeans shall be decided after HKRW.

For the IODA African Championship 2024 (14-21 September in Seychelles), in case there is more interest than allocated slots, the selection priority will be made using the same ranking as for the Worlds and including the following additional criteria:

• The first 50% allocation to sailors ranked in the top 20 and who failed to qualify for the Euros, Asians or Worlds.
• The remaining 50% allocation to sailors under 12 years old, using their Opti age (i.e born in 2012 or later). In case of an odd number of slots allocated to Hong Kong, sailors under 12 shall make up the majority.  

For the North American 2024  (Puerto Rico 13-20 July) and South American 2024  championships, in case there is more interest than allocated slots, the selection priority will follow the same single ranking process as for the Worlds, Asians and Europeans. However, if slots are contested, a sailor cannot do both North American 2024 and South American 2024 championship.

As in previous years the rankings for overall HKODA ranking and selection for IODA events will be based on the results of all the individual races in the relevant regattas. For every 4 races one 1 result (including DNE scores) can be discarded.

Eg. If a total of 24 races have been completed across the regattas then 6 race results can be discarded. The RSS Low Point System and Appendix 8 will be applied in scoring. Each race is scored separately and an individual race result is only counted using scores for HKODA members i.e. excludes international sailors and non-members (Detail of how to become a member of HKODA 2023/24 will be sent in advance of the new sailing year.).

Each IODA event has its own rules on the number of participants allowed from each Member National Association, and boy/girl ratios, which we will follow when making the selection. These rules are set by IODA and must be taken into consideration when looking at the rankings.

Additionally HKODA will likely participate in the next China Youth (Student) Games and in international Team Racing events. Parents will be contacted when HKODA receives more information on these events.

We look forward to seeing you all in Clearwater Bay and hope that we can successfully run a full year of regattas - thank you all for your support with these events.

If you have any questions please send an email to secretary@hkoda.org