Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships NoR
Tas ILCA have posted the 2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship Notice of Race along with Online Entry on the Event Page below:
2026 ILCA Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championship – Event Page
The Event Page also has charter boat contacts, transport and accommodation information, coach, and support boat registration.
In particular sailors and teams who wish to use Spirit of Tasmania should consider booking early for greater choice of sailings.
This event will be the ranking event for entry to all 2026 ILCA World Open and Youth Championships except for the 2026 Under 21 Worlds Lanzarote, Spain (17-24 Jan 2025). Full details of ILCA Australia ranking for ILCA World Championships is on AusILCA web site Here.
Along with the nationals, RYCT have their pre-Christmas Showdown regatta that sailors may be interested in. The NoR for this event is Here.
Tas ILCA and RYCT are looking forward to welcoming all down to Hobart for these Championships.
2027 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships Sandringham YC
For longer term planning the 2027 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be held in the normal rotation by ILCA Victoria. The event will be held at Sandringham Yacht Club 1-8 January with racing 3-8 January and equipment checking and test race 1-2 January.
The 2027 Performance Sailcraft ILCA Under 21 World Championships for men in ILCA 7 and women in ILCA 6 will also be run at Sandringham 10-17 January 2027 following the Australian Open & Youth event.
Sandringham will host the Victorian State in the weeks preceding these events.
Together with Sail Melbourne, this will provide Australian sailors and sailors from around the world with a program of events across the southern hemisphere summer.
Oceania & Australian Masters Westernport YC Results
David Whait leading Matt Faddy and Matt Blakey all enjoying the conditions at the top of the ILCA 7 Fleet
Over 100 boats lined up for the 2025 Masters at Westernport (27 ILCA 7s, 80 ILCA 6s and 6 ILCA 4s) sailed 21-24 February at Westernport YC, Victoria.
On day one no race started with the tide velocity at times exceeding the wind. Conditions after that ranged from excellent ranging up to challenging allowing PRO Col Dods to run three races per day so 9 of the scheduled 10 races were completed. WYC did a fabulous job on the water and for the several social events which were much appreciated by all the sailors.
There was great racing in all the fleets and some fabulous rides across the reaches and with some decent wind and wave waves down the runs.
The final results for the event are Here.
Lots of action photos of the event are available to free download thanks to Tom France @thomasfrancephotography.
Bruce Paine and the Boat of Pain found the waves a fair bit bigger than on Lake Burly Griffin
2025 Oceania Australian ILCA Masters 21-24 Feb
Entries are now open Here for the 2025 Oceania & Australian Masters Championships 21–24 February at Westernport Yacht Club Balnarring Beach, Victoria.
To encourage growth in the ILCA4 division, a special entry fee of AUD120 is provided.
This is the Australian ranking event for the 2025 ILCA World Masters 19-28 September Formia, Italy.
The Notice of Race is Here.
2025 Oceania & Australian Youth & Open Championships
ILCA 6 Action Mara Stransky Leads Evie Saunders & Hugo Ralph Photo by Spikey Mikey
The Oceania & Australian Youth & Open Championships was held at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland 1-8 January 2025. The event saw 223 boats in the three ILCA classes sail in five fleets competing all 12 scheduled races in mostly variable sea breeze conditions.
The first day saw very strong SE winds with the second race of the day abandoned when a 35 knot front moved over the course. There races were scheduled on the second day with PRO Col Dods keen to get back onto the regatta schedule. This day proved to be the toughest of the regatta.
Days 3 to 6 were sailed in predictable moderate seas breeze conditions allowing the event to proceed like clockwork give or take a few general recalls.
Almost all the top Australian ILCA sailors were competing along with sailors from 10 other countries in Oceania, North America, Europe and Asia regions.
Action a Plenty in the ILCA 4s at RQYS
It was great to see the large number of ILCA 4 sailors. ILCA 4s were the largest class with 92 entries (47 females) sailing for the first time in two fleets. In a close contest they were lead home by Tinaroo Queenslander Breanne Wadley RQYS/TSC from Victorian Callum Simmons SSCBC/IHYC who was first Under 18 and Singaporean Ian Goh. First Under 16 was overall 4th placed WA sailors Thomas Cooper RFBYC/FSC.
The ILCA 6s had 85 entries sailing in two fleets. They were dominated by the top women sailors with 8 of the top 10 and all of the top 6 places filled by women. The clear winner was RQYS and Tokyo Olympic representative Mara Stransky. Mara overcame a F3 race retirement due to a second Rule 42 infringement with a strong finish to win from Marseille Olympic representative WA’s Zoe Thomson RFBYC. NSW
Manly YC sailor Evie Saunders won three races to finish 3rd and was first Under 21. NSW sailors Healy Ryan DBSC/HHSC was first Under 17 and first male at 7th place. First Under 19 was WA’s Jasper Stay RFBYC/FSC.
Hamish Gilsenan Leads Mike Wilson in ILCA 7
The ILCA 7s fleet of 46 podium was dominated by WA sailors with four of the top six from that state. Zac Littlewood RFBYC won after a first place in the final heat. Zac received a second yellow flag in the first race of the final day setting the scene for a nail biting finish with Netherlands Olympic sailor Duko Bos. Zac’s win in Race 12 got him across the line on a countback.
Ethan McAulay RPYC who had beaten Zac and Duko in the lead up event Sail Melbourne was well placed until a second yellow flag in Race 9 forced him to withdraw from that race. Ethan finished 3rd. WA sailors Stefan Elliott-Shircore FSC and Michael Compton SoPYC/FSC completed the WA domination with NSW sailor Finn Alexander RSYS/DBSC completing the podium places. First Under 21 in the ILCA 7s was Isaac Schotte RQYS.
The Battens Trophy for the best performing state returned to WA where it has resided for most of its life since 1975. Victoria in 2023 and Queensland in 2024 interrupted the line however the fabulous strength of the WA ICLA 7 team carried the day in 2025.
Winners are Grinners – Battens Winning Team
The next ILCA Australian & Oceania Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania 1-8 January 2026. Information on this event is in a post on our web site Here.
The full results of the event are Here.
All the event details are on the competitors page on the RQYS web site Here.
RQYS event photos are Here.
There is a more detailed wrap on he event by Andrew Stransky Here.
Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships Information
The 2025 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland between 1-8 January 2025.
Racing will start on Thursday 2nd January with the practice race. From Friday 3rd until Wednesday 8th January two races back to back are scheduled 12 races in all. The ILCA 4 (91 entries) and the ILCA 6 (87 entries) will both be sailed with split fleets. The ILCA 7s (44 entries) will sail as a single fleet.
The Regatta Competitor Page with links to all information is Here
You can joint the Whatsapp Group Here to receive notification on your mobile when a notice is posted
Competitor List is Here
Sailing Instructions are Here
Notice of Race is Here
RQYS Video will be posted Here
RQYS Weather and rigging area webcam are Here
BoM MetEye (Peel Island) 7 day 3 hourly forecasts are Here
AusILCA AGM will be held at 0900 on 5 January at RQYS Agenda is Here
2025 ILCA Open & Youth Championships NoR and Entries
The 2025 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships will be held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Manly Queensland between 1-8 January 2025.
The Notice of Race for this event is Here.
Entries prior to 14 December $450 can be placed Here. After this date entries may be lodged with a $100 late fee.
The Regatta Competitor Page with links to race documents, entry, venue information and WhatsApp Chat Group for notifications of new information is Here.
Charters are available from NB Sailsports Performance Sailcraft Australia and Devoti Sailing.
This event is the qualifying event for Australian sailors applying for entry to any 2025 ILCA World Open and Youth Championships.
2025 Solidarity Program Sailors Announced
ILCA Oceania is delighted to announce the following sailors have been selected by their district as the Solidarity representative for 2025 program run during the 2025 Oceania & Australian Open & Youth Championships at RQYS 1-8 January.
| ILCA District | Name | Club | Sailing History |
| QLD | Evie McGuire | Southport YC | Optimists |
| NSW/ACT | Amelia (Millie) Thorne | Hunters Hill SC | Optimist, Flying 11 |
| VIC | Alexandria Ewart | Davies Bay YC | Pacer |
| TAS | Genevieve Strutton | Royal YC of Tasmania | Optimist, Int Cadet |
| SA | Sophia Homes | Brighton & Seacliff YC | Optimists |
| WA | Robyn Mary Tutty | Hillary YC | Minnows |
| NZ | Lucy Luxford | Charteris Bay YC | Optimist, P class |
| Solomon Is | Renee Baragamu | Solomon Is Sailing Ass | Optimists |
This program encourages young female sailors (ages 13-16) to participate in a world-class sailing championship and aims to foster a lasting love for sailing among young girls and support their development within the sport.
This is the third year of the program and already some participants have transitioned to the ILCA 6 and participated in subsequent State & National events.
This year local builder PSA have come on board and very generously will provide charter boats and merchandise for all the sailors. Australian Sailing are also providing much appreciated support for the program.
Thanks to the ILCA districts for their support, and for managing the selection process.
The full ILCA Oceania Press Release is Here.
Oceania & Australian Masters 2024 RQYS
The 2024 O & A Masters was held at RQYS Manly Queensland 12-15 April.
Great Queensland weather and hospitality was enjoyed by all competitors.
Host district QILCA, RO Louise Davis and RQYS did a great job in organising and running the event in which 7 of the 8 scheduled races were completed.
Rob Sykes provided the following comments on the event.
An eclectic fleet of some 71 boats, including past Olympians, current plus past World Champions and cube holders was met by winds ranging from about 15kn on Friday to a glass out on Monday morning. As some people began to de rig on Monday, the wind came through at about 6kn resulting in us non-believers frantically re rigging to get on the water.
Thanks must go to the RO for the postponement during the first start sequence that allowed us get to the start in time. There were also short postponements on the third race of the middle two days to allow the 6’s to clear the lee gate before the 7’s started their last race of those days. These delays and the communication between the RO and sailors were most welcome.
The regatta management was outstanding, helped by the thoughtful start sequence of 7’s first, followed by 4’s and then the 6’s (who tended to be opponents of rule 30 and enjoyed “nudging” the pin boat at the gun).
I have to be a bit careful pointing the bone at the 6’s, as the winds during the regatta often brought marginal planing or surfing conditions when wave and gust met nicely, resulting in those with the biggest sails pushing the boundary of rule 42 in interesting and creative ways.
I suspect the 4’s were the best behaved of all the fleets. It was really nice to see them on the water and would like to welcome them to future events.
Overall, the racing was very tight with all positions swapped during any race. The regatta winners seemed to find a way to be in the front when it mattered most, while the rest of us gained and lost places with alarming regularity when the winning shift turned from hero to zero in the space of a few minutes.
The pressure on every mark was huge, with a small error on one side or other capable of losing or gaining 5 or 6 places. The finish was similar, with multiple boats finishing within fractions of a boat length of each other. Congratulations must go to the finish boat and volunteer crew who managed to record this mayhem.
Sunday evening brought the regatta dinner after the second day of 3 light weather races. The increasing laughter levels as the evening progressed bear testament to the camaraderie enjoyed by all.
The presentation was preceded by the mandatory sausage sizzle where the category winners and runner ups were presented cubes, ILCA equipment and wine donated by our sponsors, Sail27 and PSA. The important people who make up the bulk of the fleet were also acknowledged with randomly drawn skippers receiving a bottle of wine.
There are more individual perspectives on the event from sailors in the five age divisions and the three classes on the QILCA web site Here.
Videos with thanks to Spikey Mikey (mike@rqtv.com.au) are Here.
Sailors Eye View of the 2024 ILCA 6 Championship
“It’s never like this here.”
I know this is a common saying at every event, but this held true at the 2024 Oceania & Australian ILCA Open & Youth Championships. With the four AST/ASS women away in Argentina to compete at the World Championships, becoming the National ILCA 6 Champion was up for grabs.
Up and coming RQYS sailors Frances Beebe (pictured above) has written a great sailors eye view of the ILCA 6 Championship in Adelaide which you can read Here.