Long before it became one of the marquee disciplines of the FISU World University Championships, sailing was just testing the waters. Here’s how it grew into the global student-athlete event coming to Split this September — and a few facts worth knowing before the start gun fires.

From Trial Sport to Official Discipline

Sailing first appeared as an optional sport at the Summer Universiade back in 1999. It didn’t take long to prove itself: by 2002, it had earned a permanent place on the official FISU program, where it has remained ever since.

It Started as Match Racing

The discipline’s first official edition wasn’t held on a lake or a bay near a big city — it launched on the Presqu’île of Quiberon in France in 2002, under the name Match Racing. For its first four editions, right up through the Gdansk event in Poland, it ran as a single mixed competition, with men and women racing together.

The Split That Changed the Sport

Everything shifted at the 5th edition, held in Gazi, Greece, in 2010. That year, Match Racing split into separate men’s and women’s competitions for the first time — a change that opened the door to far greater participation, especially among women.

Record-Breakers

Numbers tell their own story:

• 2004, Rimini, Italy — set the early benchmark for athlete participation.
• 2010, Gazi, Greece — 62 athletes from 9 countries came close to matching that record, while setting a new high for women’s participation.
• 2012, Nice, France and 2014, Ledro, Italy — broke those records again, pushing participation to new heights.

More Than a Race

At its core, FISU Sailing isn’t just about crossing the finish line first. The event is built around a broader set of values — excellence, fair play, sustainability, inclusivity, and cultural exchange between student-athletes from around the world.

Where It’s Been

The championship has traveled widely over the years, with recent editions hosted in:

• Desenzano del Garda, Italy (2024)
• Napoli, Italy (2019)
• Cherbourg, France (2018)
• Perth, Australia (2016)

Where It’s Headed: Split, 2026

The next stop is Split, Croatia, where the 2026 FISU World University Championship Sailing will run from September 25 to October 3. Fitting, perhaps, for a city built around the Adriatic — Split is about to welcome the world’s top student sailors to its waters.