Team USA Selection Criteria
2024 420 European Championships
July 2-20 2024

Jadralni Klub Pirat -Portoroz, Slovenia

(Dates for arrival and pre-regatta training have not yet be determined)

All USA sailors wishing to compete at the International 420 European Championships must qualify and be selected by the US I420 Class Association. Sailors may qualify to apply by earning qualification points based on the formula outlined below or by being selected as a “wild card” by the US I420 Class Association Selection Committee.

The US I420 Class Association will begin accepting European Team USA Acceptance Applications and sailors will have until the deadline below to submit their application. The Class will post the final Class qualifying points results and US I420 Class Association Selection Committee will then begin notifying the Class Membership of the Teams that are invited to compete in the Championship Event, per the schedule. Please note that only qualifying points earned by the Helm are eligible, but an application is valid only when both helm and crew are included in the application.

 

KEY DATES/DEADLINES

January 1:  US Class Assoc. begins accepting Applications 

February 21:  Final points qualification standings are posted (following midwinters)

March 3:  Deadline for submission of Applications

March 18:  US Class Assoc. begins notifying sailors of their acceptance on Team USA

TBD:  Arrive at venue. Collect charters

TBD: Team USA pre-regatta training starts, at the venue.

July 2-4:  Measurement & training

July 5-10:  Racing

July 10:  Awards & Closing Ceremony

July 11: Depart

 

MAXIMUM SIZE OF TEAM USA 

Men's/Mixed and Women's: 20 teams (40 sailors)

Under 17* Men's/Mixed and Women's: 8 teams (16 sailors)

Under 15* Men's/Mixed or Women's: 2 teams (4 sailors)

*U17 Age Eligibility: Both sailors shall not have attained their 17th birthday on or before 12/31/2024 (i.e., born on or after 1/1/2008).

*U15 Age Eligibility: Both sailors shall not have attained their 15th birthday on or before 12/31/2024 (i.e., born on or after 1/1/2010). 

 

QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

The teams with the highest qualifying points in the combined Men's/Mixed and Women's, the combined Men's/Mixed and Women's Under 17 division, and Men's/Mixed and Women's U15 division will be considered for Team USA at the European Championship.

High point selections are based on the highest combined total qualifying points, calculated based on the helm finishing positions from three (3) Qualifying Regattas noted below, using a maximum of one regatta from each group, and calculated to 3 decimal places.

While qualification points accumulated at Qualifying Points Regattas by a sailor are important in the final decision as to which sailors will be chosen by the Selection Committee to compete on any USA championship team (Team USA), qualification points are not the only criteria. A sailor’s practice of appropriate Corinthian spirit, sportsmanship and general behavior are an important component in the selection process.

 

QUALIFYING REGATTAS

(Only regattas that have been completed prior to February 28, 2023 are eligible)

Group	Qualifying Regattas	Event Weighting
A	2023 US Nationals/Orange Bowl	130%
B	2024 North American Championship	130%
C	2023 Worlds - Spain 2023 Jr. Europeans - Poland	120%
D	2024 Midwinter Championship	110%
E	2023 Atlantic Coast Championship 2023 Pacific Coast Championship 2023 Gulf Coast Championship	100%

A qualifying regatta must have a minimum of twelve (12) boats sail in the event in order for points to be awarded.

Qualification Calculation Formula: (N-F) + 1 divided by N, multiplied by W = Qualification Points (carried to 3 decimals)

Variables:

N = number of boats that sailed in the regatta

F = sailors’ finish position in the entire fleet (not flight) e.g., Open, Women’s, U17

W = the event Bonus or Weighting Multiple – to indicate importance of event in qualification

 

PRE-QUALIFICATION

Any Team that has earned a top three “podium” finish in the Gold Fleet at the prior years' I420 Worlds will be offered an invitation to become a Member of Team USA at the following Championship. The Pre-Qualified Teams must still apply by the submission deadline.

 

WILD CARD SELECTION

“Wild Card” invitations may be extended to sailors to join Team USA if there are not enough qualifying teams to fill out the full roster. A “Wild Card” team is one that does not qualify on points. The Selection Committee has authority to invite sailors from the list of applicants who have submitted an application form by the submission deadline.

Wild Card Teams may be chosen from any team that meets any of these criteria:

• Has qualifying points under the Selection Criteria as published in this document.
• Sailed in at least one (1) previous I420 US qualifying regatta over the last two (2) years – including any of the current qualifying events leading up to the upcoming World Championship.
• Was a previous member of Team USA at a Worlds, Europeans or Jr. Europeans in any prior year.
• A sailing resume that demonstrates their ability to compete at a top international level (in any class).

Prior experience in international competition is an important factor in selecting “Wild Card” teams. Teams withoutexperience at any of the qualifying regattas may be considered for selection as a “Wild Card” team if the US I420 Class Selection Committee and TeamUSA Head Coach deems that the team has sufficient experience that would indicate that the Team is prepared to be competitive at the World Championship.

 

INVITATION AND ACCEPTANCE PROCESS

• The Helm and Crew must be specified in the Application for the application be to valid and accepted.
• Applications CAN be submitted prior to the Mid-winters. All results for the sailor will be used for qualifying points even if the application is submitted before the final qualifying regatta (midwinters) is completed.
• After completion of the Mid-Winters Championship (President’s weekend), the class will post the final qualifying results of the points events regattas.
• On March 18 the US I420 Class Association Selection Committee will begin notifying sailors on who are invited to join Team USA at Europeans. These sailors will be notified by email and will have five (5) days to accept before position(s) are offered to the next eligible sailor(s).
• Any remaining open position(s) will be offered to Applicants with qualification points, and Wild Card applicants, until such time as all the Team positions are filled. These sailors will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to accept before any remaining position(s) are offered to the next eligible sailor(s). This process will continue until the team is full.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Invitations will be extended only to valid members of the US I420 Class Association. A sailor’s results in regattas sailed while not a paid-up member of the US I420 Class Association will not be eligible for use in calculating qualifying points.
• A helmsperson must sail in a minimum of two (2) US I420 qualifying events, as a helmsperson, unless applying as a wild card.
• Applications will be deemed valid and accepted only when the helm and crew information or included. A helm may include any crew so long as the selected crew is age eligible and has competed in at least one (1) Qualifying Regattas in any year, as either a helm or crew, or the crew was previously a member of a team that has sailed the I420 at international, national or a significant regional event within the past 24 months.
• Acceptance of an application is based on the sailor meeting the eligibility criteria for entry to the International 420 Class Association European Championships as published by the International 420 Class Association and the Regatta Organizing Authority for the European Championship.
• All Team USA sailors (helmsman and crew) must be current members of US Sailing and registered with World Sailing in order to compete in the World Championships. These requirements are not necessary to submit the Acceptance Application.
• Sailors are responsible for their own housing, transportation and securing their boats. The US Class will provide recommendations on housing and boat charter options.
• Sailors are required to designate parents/chaperones that will be present at the venue throughout the event.
• Sailors are not permitted to use, bring or otherwise have their own private coach at the regatta. The US Class provides all coaching for Team USA, including all related travel, logistics and support for Team USA coaches.
• In the unlikely event of a tie between sailors for final qualification points (carried to 3 decimal places), the sailor’s actual finishing position in the I420 National Championship/Orange Bowl Regatta will be used as the tie-breaker.