Season's Greetings from the World Sailing President

Dear sailing family and friends,

As the year draws to a close, I extend the warmest season’s greetings and best wishes to all our sailors, coaches, officials, volunteers, Member National Authorities, and supporters around the globe.

What a remarkable year 2025 has been. The dedication, athleticism, and sheer determination of our sailors shone brightly on the water, reaffirming that the passion for our sport is stronger than ever.

We witnessed incredible competitive spirit across all areas of the sport, from the grassroots level to the elite World Championships in our high-performance classes – and especially in our Para Inclusive events which just showed how important sailing is to the lives of so many people at the first edition of the World Sailing Inclusion Championships in Oman.

Our application for sailing to be reinstated to the Paralympic Games for Brisbane 2032 has now been submitted and all of the activities throughout the year have helped to present a very strong case. While we await the decision, it is important to note that World Sailing is firmly committed to this cause and to Para Inclusive Sailing. Participation continues to increase thanks to the drive of so many around the world and sailing has proved it is a sport for all where everyone is welcome.

Beyond the competitive arena, we celebrated numerous successes across the breadth of sailing. We’ve seen significant growth in the development of youth, coach and officials across the globe, ensuring our sport is more inclusive and accessible. We also made substantial progress on our sustainability agenda, launching new initiatives to protect the marine environments where we train and compete, recognising our collective responsibility to the oceans and being recognised ourselves for these efforts by the Sport Positive Awards and IOC Climate Change awards where we were finalists in both.

This success is not achieved by any single entity. It is driven by the tireless efforts of our dedicated World Sailing staff and volunteers, the strategic guidance of our Member National Authorities, the professionalism of our race officials, and the unwavering support of families and fans. To every single person who contributed their time, energy, and passion to advancing our sport in 2025 – thank you. Your commitment is the keel that keeps our global organisation stable and moving forward.

As we pause to reflect and celebrate this holiday season with friends and family, let us also look forward with excitement. The coming year 2026 accelerates us into the new Olympic quadrennial, promising fresh challenges and major opportunities, including key qualification events, the continued expansion of our sailing formats, and further innovation in boat and technology development as we prepare for the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, the Commonwealth Youth Games 2027 and, of course, the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

May your holidays be filled with joy, peace, and good health, and may the New Year bring fair winds and prosperous endeavours both on and off the water.

Quanhai Li

President of World Sailing