Irish Sailing Issues Preliminary Notice on 2028 Olympic Nomination Process
Irish Sailing has published a preliminary notification outlining the proposed process for athlete nomination for the 2028 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) is responsible for the final selection of athletes to compete at the Olympic Games. Within Irish Sailing, the High Performance Committee (HPC) is tasked with developing a selection system, which will be submitted to the OFI for approval once finalised. Irish Sailing noted that confirmation of the full selection process is dependent on the finalisation of dates and venues for international qualifying events.
The initial step in the nomination process is the securing of a national quota place through World Sailing designated qualifying events. Where Ireland qualifies in an event, the HPC may conduct a trials series to determine the athlete it will recommend to the Irish Sailing board. Traditionally, this trials series consists of three events. Following completion of the trials, the Board may nominate the selected athlete to the OFI.
In recognition of limited entry quotas at certain events, minimum performance standards have been established for trial eligibility. All senior carded athletes will be eligible to compete in any trials. Other athletes must achieve a top 50% finish at least once at an approved qualifying event held between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2027. Any trials, if required, will not commence before the second half of 2027.
A schedule of potential qualifying events has been identified, including World Championships, European Championships and World Sailing Grand Slam events taking place throughout 2026 and 2027. Some events and dates remain subject to confirmation.
Irish Sailing confirmed that this notification is preliminary and that further details will be communicated once the selection system has been finalised and approved by the OFI.
You can read the full notification here.