Semaine Olympique Française Preview: See you in Hyères in a month

55th Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères © FFVoile - SOF / SailingEnergy

The world's leading Olympic sailors are gearing up - as they have for more than 50 years - for the unique challenge of the Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - Toulon Provence Méditerranée (SOF).

This is an unmissable event for the best in the world. As the second event of the new Sailing Grand Slam (SGS - the Grand Slam of Olympic Sailing), a series bringing together the top Olympic sailing events, the SOF will welcome more than 800 athletes from April 19 to 26.

The Sailing Grand Slam

The Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères - Toulon Provence Méditerranée will be the second event on this new Olympic circuit, which will be inaugurated by the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia (Mallorca, Spain) from March 28 to April 5. Developed in close collaboration with World Sailing, the Sailing Grand Slam aims to offer athletes high-level competition and high-quality organisation, on both land and sea, and will unify the most important events within a coherent calendar.

"We are truly proud to be part of the creation and integration of this new Olympic circuit," Ed Russo, the SOF Event Commissioner, said. "We will do everything we can to ensure that the experience for athletes and coaches is consistent across all events, in terms of competition on the water, the administrative side, and with the rules."

More than 800 athletes from over 65 countries

Throughout the week, the 10 Olympic classes - ILCA (women's and men's single-handed dinghy), 49er (women's and men's double-handed dinghy), Nacra 17 (mixed double-handed catamaran), 470 (mixed double-handed dinghy), Formula Kite (women's and men's kitefoil), and iQFOiL (women's and men's windsurf) - will see great champions, Olympic medallists, world champions, and future Olympic sailing stars compete.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games medallists competing in Hyères:
ILCA7 - Pavlos Kontides (CYP) - Silver medal
Formula Kite Men: Maximilian Maeder (SGP) - Bronze medal
iQFOiL Women: Sharon Kantor (ISR) - Silver medal
Formula Kite Men women: Frenchwoman Lauriane Nolot, silver medallist, will make her competitive comeback in Hyères.

The Semaine Olympique Française Programme:

Friday, April 18: Welcome and Registration
Saturday, April 19: Welcome and Registration
Sunday, April 20: Welcome and Registration
Sunday, April 20: 18:00 - Opening Ceremony
Monday, April 21 to Friday, April 25: Qualifying Rounds
Friday, April 25: iQFOiL and Formula Kite Medal Races
Saturday, April 26: ILCA, 49er, Nacra 17, and 470 Medal Races
Saturday, April 26: 17:00 - Awards Ceremony and Closing Ceremony