World championships in sailing are world championships organised or sanctioned by World Sailing (formerly the International Sailing Federation or ISAF). As a sport, sailing has the largest number of world championships due to the diversity of equipment and disciplines.
Championships The number of titles is due to the diversity of equipment. Sanctioned World Championships fall into the following categories:
World Sailing – Initiated Championships Championship EventHeld Frequency Ref Sailing World Championships Male/Female/Mixed 2003–present Every 4 years Youth Sailing World Championships Youth Male/Female/Open 1971–present Annual World Sailing Open Team Racing World Championships Open 1995–present Variable ISAF Offshore Team Racing World Championship Open 2004–2010 Semi-Annual Women's Match Racing World Championship Female Annual Youth Match Racing World Championship Youth 2014 – Price, Williams & Blanc-Ramos (2017) 4 Para World Sailing Championships Variable Annual IYRU Women's World Championships Female 1978 to 1992 Annual eSailing World Championship Open 2018– Mixed Two Person Offshore World Championship Male & Female Pair 2020 – Class Committee Keelboat World Championship Open 2020 – World Sailing Inclusion Championships 2025 –
World Sailing – Sanctioned World Championships ISAF Open Match Racing World Championship (Presently awarded to the overall winner of the World Match Racing Tour originally a world sailing event) Nations Cup Offshore Racing Congress Rating System Currently ORCi former ORC Worlds include the IMS, IMS 500, IMS 670, 1/4 TON, 1/2 TON and 1 TON ClassWorld Championships International Radio Sailing Association Class World Championships IRSA / 10 Rater World Championship IRSA / Radio A Class World Championship IRSA / Marblehead World Championships IRSA / One Metre World Championships Extreme 40 World Championship (Authorised Once) International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) (from 1990s to 2014) Blind Sailing World Championship originally recognised through IFDS Blind Match Racing World Championship originally recognised through IFDS Other Disabled Sailing World Championships (Such as none technical) PWA World Championships also recognised as a special event
World Sailing Classes – None Fleet Racing
Formula 18 Raid Worlds (Coastal Fleet Racing) Optimist Team Racing Worlds (Inter Country Team Racing) International 14 Team Racing Worlds (Inter Country Team Racing) International Speed Windsurfing World
World Sailing Classes – Fleet Racing
Classes that are members of World Sailing are entitled to hold World Championships if they are spread into a minimum of two continents and have certain number of nations and continents take part in two of the last three championships (the number of nations depend of the size of the equipment).