The ILCA6 Women’s World Championships are set to get underway in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, next week, with a fleet of 110 athletes from 44 countries preparing for six days of intense racing on Dublin Bay.
Australia will field a strong contingent in the ILCA6 fleet, with eight athletes ready to compete against the world’s best in what promises to be a challenging week of racing.
For Paris 2024 Olympian Zoe Thomson, the venue holds special memories. It was here on Dublin Bay that the Perth sailor experienced her first taste of international success, winning the ILCA6 Youth World Championships in 2016. Now, almost a decade later, Thomson is returning to the same waters for another World Championship, this time as one of Australia’s leading contenders.
“From the training we’ve done here and hearing from the boys, we can expect tricky conditions and a regatta where every point counts. I’m really looking forward to the challenge, and I like this venue a lot,” Thomson stated.
The 28-year-old has already experienced some of the conditions that could define the championship and believes success will come down to executing the fundamentals and staying mentally resilient when things don’t go to plan.
“I think keys to success will be about executing the simple things like starting cleanly and staying in phase, then it will be super important to be aware of how you respond when something doesn’t go your way. There’s been so many lessons this year and I’m looking forward to this last hit out,” she finished.
Australian Sailing Team Technical Director Michael Blackburn will be on the ground throughout the championship, supporting the National and Futures Squads alongside National Coach Mikael Lundh and Performance Pathways Coach Annie Eastgate. Blackburn, who has coached three different athletes to Olympic gold in the ILCA7, knows what it takes to perform at the highest level of the class.
“The Worlds are going to demand a good amount of patience and adaptability in the typical shifty offshore breezes of Dublin Bay,” he explained. “The squad have been training well in the lead-up and seem relaxed yet focused to perform.”
The regatta follows last week’s ILCA7 World Championships, which proved to be an extremely challenging test, with the conditions making consistency difficult to achieve. “It’s looking like it’s going to be a bit windier than it was for the Men’s Worlds, so we’re expecting a good physical workout as well, and our squad are definitely up for that challenge,” shared Blackburn.
The competition will feature a Preliminary Series followed by an Elimination Series before culminating in the Final Series. The top 10 sailors will battle it out in two final single-point races to determine the 2026 ILCA6 Women’s World Champion.
Racing will take place from 7–12 September, with the championship hosted out of the Royal St. George Yacht Club and National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay.
Full list of entries can be found here.
For further information about the event and to follow the action daily, visit the event website at 2026ilca6women.ilca-worlds.org
Australian Sailing Team (AST), Australian Sailing Squad (AS Squad), Australian Sailing Futures (ASF), State Sailing Performance Program (SSPP) and other Australian (AUS) entries at the ILCA6 Women’s World Championship:
ILCA 6 (110 entries)
Elyse Ainsworth (AST)
Mara Stransky (AST)
Zoe Thomson (AST)
Casey Imeneo (ASF)
Evie Saunders (ASF)
Lili McAullay (ASF)
Sylvie Stannage (AUS)
Frances Beebe (AUS)
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About Australian Sailing
Australian Sailing is the governing body for the sport of Sailing in Australia. We are responsible for the administration, promotion and development of sailing. We are a member-based organisation that represents the interests and provides services and support to over 360 clubs across Australia as well as more than 160 accredited Discover Sailing Centres.
The Australian Sailing Team is the national representative team for Olympic-class sailing, bringing together Australia’s elite athletes and rising stars through a unified high-performance pathway within Australian Sailing.
Lisa Darmanin – Australian Sailing Team Communications & Brand Lead
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