Rules Proposals 25-10 Women’s Regattas Wind Limit

I’d like to congratulate Paola for her proposal to set a wind limit specifically for women’s races. This is an important step toward promoting safety and encouraging more women to participate in competitive sailing.

It’s a fact that, in general, women have less body weight and muscle strength compared to men. Adjusting race conditions to reflect this reality doesn’t diminish the competition—it creates a fairer and more accessible environment. With limits that respect our physical characteristics, the sport becomes safer and more appealing, allowing more women to develop and excel in sailing.

I hope this proposal moves forward and inspires other events to pay attention to the growth of women’s fleets!

I am in support of this proposal. There are several reasons that I support this in addition to the reasons in the proposal:
- the limits are always SUSTAINED over 15 knots - as we know in windy conditions, puffs are always higher
- these events are often hosted with mostly chartered boats. A lower limit will reduce damage risk as well as make it more likely individuals and organizations will offer their boats for charter
- the Women's Worlds, while competitive at the top, is also intended to be inclusive for experience in the boat and age of sailors. It has been an event that promotes women to sail who may more often crew.

Best regards,
Lisa Pline
Past participant in 7 Women's Worlds, future participant in 2025!

I agree what Paola Prada said.

YES!!!!. Flota 154. Valencia, Spain

I agree with this proposal and it is important on inclusion of women from all parts of the world considering countries with an average small size women.

I am in support of this proposal and in agreement with the reasons listed by Lisa Pline. In addition, I feel the 15 knot wind limit supports participation by women's youth and master teams and mixed age teams (e.g., U30 siblings or peers, master-master, mother-daughter).

Grace Fang (age 62)
Participant in 2023 Master Worlds, 2023 Women's Worlds, 2025 Women's Worlds planned

Hello!
I agree with the proposal to lower the maximum wind speed to 15 knots because it would increase participation in women's championships. Thank you.

I support the limit proposal. I believe it might increase participation, and it will certainly make races safer and more attractive to women.
Att.,
Viviam
Brazilian sailor from ICRJ.

I totally agree with the proposal and all the c9mments above. We had to face 25 knots races a few times and it was quite dangerous. I gave up on some of them.

I support that proposal too. Lower the maximum wind speed to 15 knots will increase women participation in championships. Congratulations, Paola!

I am in support of this proposal. Lower the maximum wind speed limit for 15 knots will increase women participation in championships. Congratulations, Paola!

As a woman who has been sailing Snipe for 24 years, I disagree with this suggestion. Many women sail in the all-seasons in any wind, and between 15 and 18 knots, the difference isn't in the strength, but in the boat's trim. We've already eliminated one upwind leg, reduced the race time, and reduced the number of races per day... there will come a time when it's not worth traveling because of the low chances of sailing…

Apoyo esta propuesta y coincido con las razones expuestas. el límite de viento de 15 nudos favorece la participación de equipos femeninos juveniles y de máster.

I don’t agree, I think limiting the amount of knots favors smaller women teams. While there are many tall ladies liking to sail together in more heavy conditions. Keeping it like it is, makes it more fair to all kind of different teams. Die hards will sail no matter what 😉
On top of that, having 15 knots as limit will increase the possibility of invalid regattas.

I don’t support this proposal.

1) I don’t see why we should lower the limit even more. There is already a lower limit put in place. Women sailors of all sizes can sail in strong winds. Smaller teams have advantage in light winds and bigger teams have an advantage in stronger winds. Bigger teams who go fast in light winds have a lot of skill. Smaller teams who go fast in strong winds also have a lot of skill.

It’s about trim and skills. That’s what the sport, and snipe sailing, is all about.
This would only increase the advantage of lighter teams even more. I really don't think that's fair.

2) There's an immence ammount of mixed teams. Looking at recent regattas, the amount of women racing is steadily increasing, sometimes having more women than men in the race. And they sail above 18 knots, no problem.

3) A possible choice of the race committee could be to shorten the leg, or use a triangle course.

4) With weather conditions changing all over the world, this will reduce our chances of going on the water and have a splendid time racing.

I DO NOT support this proposal.

1) There is already a lower limit put in place. Women sailors of all sizes can sail in strong winds. Smaller teams have advantage in light winds and bigger teams have an advantage in stronger winds. Bigger teams who go fast in light winds have a lot of skill. Smaller teams who go fast in strong winds also have a lot of skill.
It’s about trim and skills. That’s what the sport is all about. That's what snipe sailing is about. In snipe, you can easily adjust your mast trim so you can de-power.

It would be better to organize clinics for everyone to understand how to adjust the trim to the weather conditions. Or some short videos. I'd be glad to help with that.

I know some of you think this would increase participation...but it could also scare away the more experienced teams who worked hard to figure it all out and love a championship with all kinds of weather conditions.

2) A possible choice of the race committee could be to shorten te leg or use a triangle course.

3) With weather conditions changing all over the world, this will reduce our chances of going on the water and have a splendid time racing. We have been having a lot of championships with not enough or too much wind lately... this will only close the window of opportunity even more.

Hope to see you all soon, in 6, 10, 14 or 18 knots ;)
Charlotte from BEL

Even if I haven't taken part in any international competitions, seems like a positive news.
These updates may encourage more women to participate and excel sailing.

I fully support reducing the maximum wind limit for women’s sailing races. Safety must always come first, and high winds pose greater risks, especially considering physical differences that can impact endurance and injury rates. By lowering the wind limit, we ensure fairer competition, allowing skill and strategy to prevail over sheer strength. This change would also encourage more women to participate, fostering growth in the sport while maintaining an exciting and competitive environment.

I don’t think it is a proposal that will increase participants but might even decrease participants as it is more uncertain if races will be sailed and not worth the travelling. I also notice that in the deed of gift of the Women’s World Championship there seems to be no wind limit.

I disagree, as a light team we can sail with more than 15 knots 💪 moreover, there will be less occasion to sail if the wind limit drops.

I support this change. I know my limitations and after attending 2 different women's nationals that were too windy for me (I raced all the races, but wouldn't call it fun) I stopped going.
The argument that there is more potential that there won't be much racing and so not worth the trip can be greatly lessened by choosing sites and times of the year when stronger winds are not as common but 10-15 mph is.
Added to the discussion of lighter teams vs. heavier stronger ones should be the issue of aging teams. When I was in my prime, there were very few women racing Snipes. So now there are not too many women over 70. But there are so many women teams now that more and more will reach a point where 18 mph becomes too difficult, yet they will still want to participate.
I remember when there were no Women's Nationals. Women competed against everyone else, windy or not. I wasn't even in favor of creating a women's Nationals at that time. I didn't think it was necessary. I soon saw its value, but when it was piggybacked with 5 days of Nationals it was too much of a good thing. One valuable purpose it could serve, however, is to provide a national caliber competition for all of us well into our senior years.

I do not agree with this proposal.

Decreasing the wind window for women in the Snipe seems like it will limit the amount of races in a regatta and exclude a lot of windy or gusty and variable days. In turn decreasing the certainty of going out on the water for sailing and potentially lower participation.
Furthermore in my experience plenty of our female Belgian snipe sailors and female teams, love heavy weather. Yes sailing the snipe becomes more physical than it would normally be, but the great thing about a technical boat is that setup, trim, different gear, training and technique goes a long way towards equalizing the playing field, even for lighter teams. This all to say that a lot of our female teams are getting really fast even in the heavy stuff.
In the end our sport is all about learning, adapting and overcoming what nature throws at us, so it would be a shame to limit the ability of women to compete in and experience the full wind range.

I disagree, as a very light skipper I always sail in light teams. Light teams can sail in more than 15 knots. The strong wind is part of the game.

I disagree.
While I understand the intention behind this proposal and appreciate the concern for safety and inclusiveness, I respectfully disagree with lowering the wind limit for women’s events from 18 to 15 knots.
As a woman, I find this change counterproductive to the broader goals of equality and empowerment in our sport. Yes, it’s true that many women sailors may be lighter or have less muscles then men, but that doesn’t mean we are less capable of handling challenging conditions. Skill, technique, preparation, and mental strength play just as significant a role as physical power. Many female sailors have already proven they can compete safely and successfully in winds above 15 knots.
Let’s not undermine the dedication and strength of the women in our sport but let’s empower them to meet the challenge, not shield them from it. 💪🏽

I do not agree.
The Snipe is very adjustable to changing wind conditions and with the right trim and technique we can easily sail above 15 knots. If this rule proposal passes… a lot of competitive women will get demotivated to come to women championships.

Unfortunately, I cannot fully support this decision. Experienced sailors should be able tot judge for themselves where their limits are, and sometimes it is certainly not wrong to take calculated risks and thus learn a lot. Since no distinction is made in a boat for a men's team, a mixed team or a women's team, but that the trim is adapted tot thé prevailing weather conditions, I do not see any limitation here either. International race require great preps for teams in terms of leave planning, travel planning and getting equipment on site. The current wind limits are already a factor to consider, let's just keep them.

As a female sailor, I do not agree with the proposal to lower the wind limit for women’s events from 18 to 15 knots.

Although it is often said that most women are lighter, smaller, and have less muscle mass, these physical differences can be well compensated by technique, trim, teamwork, and boat setup. Snipe sailing is a technical sport where both lighter and heavier teams have advantages depending on the conditions. Lowering the wind limit to 15 knots only favors the lightest teams and excludes strong or experienced teams who perform well in stronger winds. This approach does not promote inclusivity.

Safety is of course important, but it should be ensured through experience, training, and proper guidance, not by limiting wind conditions that simplify the sport. Most incidents occur due to sudden gusts, poor equipment, insufficient preparation, and similar factors, not simply because the wind exceeds 15 knots. Clinics and better briefings on boat setup and safety in strong wind would have a much greater impact on reducing risks.

Finally, the argument that lowering the wind limit increases fun and attracts more women is unproven. In fact, a smaller wind window creates uncertainty whether races will take place at all, which may discourage participants from traveling to events. Many women find motivation and growth by facing challenging conditions. True enjoyment comes not from limitations, but from learning, improving, and succeeding in difficult races.

Isabelle Dompas, 23 years old, Belgian sailor

I do not support lowering the wind limit to 15 knots for women’s events.

While I recognize the intention to promote safety and inclusivity, I believe this rule risks sending the wrong message about women’s capabilities in sailing. The Snipe class is unique in how much performance depends on skill, tactics, trim and not just strength.

Setting a lower threshold might create a split between women’s and open-level standards. Instead of lowering the bar, let’s offer more training opportunities, debrief sessions, and shared resources to empower more women to thrive and feel comfortable in all conditions.

Sailing should be about growth, challenge, and equality—not restriction.

Hope to keep racing hard with all of you, in breeze and in calm!

I disagree
I, myself , am a small woman and sail in a light-wind team but I am afraid stricter rules will come with less races. I like a challenge and I think a lot of women feel that way.
Also you really can trim a snipe very well for heavy weather.