US Sailing Featured at First-Ever Junior Pan American Games in 2021

Bristol, Rhode Island – 4/7/2021 – The first-ever Junior Pan American Games is set to take place on September 9 – 19, 2021 in Cali, Colombia. This international multi-sport event is for athletes in the Americas aged 18 to 21. Athletes from 41 countries will participate in this first edition. The Sailing events will be held over three days on September 16-18, 2021

Sailing is one of the 39 sports featured at the inaugural Junior Pan Am Games. The four Sailing events to take place at the 2021 Junior Pan Am Games are the following:  

Women (2) 

  • One-Person Dinghy:  International Laser Class Association – Radial (ILCA 6) 
  • Windsurfing: iQFoil 

Men (2) 

  • One-Person Dinghy: International Laser Class Association – Standard (ILCA 7) 
  • Windsurfing: iQFoil 

Selection Procedures 

US Sailing’s International Selection Committee (ISC) will select one eligible prospective athlete in each of the events to represent the United States.  

  • International Laser Class Association – Standard (ILCA 7): The top eligible finisher in the International Laser Standard (full rig) Class at the Laser North Americans in San Francisco, Calif. on July 14-18, 2021.  
  • International Laser Class Association – Radial – (ILCA 6): The top eligible finisher in the International Laser Radial Class at the Laser North Americans in San Francisco, Calif. On July 14-18, 2021.  
  • Boy’s & Girl’s iQFoil: The top eligible male and female finisher in iQFoil equipment in the Foiling Windsurf class at the West Marine US Open Sailing Series in San Francisco, Calif. on August 13-15, 2021 at St. Francis Yacht Club.  

Should a selected athlete be unable to compete at the Junior Pan Am Games for any reason, the next highest-ranking eligible athlete from the selection event will be nominated.  

Click here for the complete US Sailing Athlete Selection Procedures.

US Sailing is requiring that eligible sailors from the United States who are interested in participating in the 2021 Junior Pan American Games complete the Participation Form to be added to the event Registration List. Sailors hoping to compete are required to be included on the “delegate list” sent to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) by US Sailing. The delegate list is an official list of all possible competitors who may qualify to represent the U.S. at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games.  

Click here for the Participation Form.

Qualification to 2023 Pan American Games 

Qualification to the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile will also be at stake for the sailors competing in Cali: the gold medalists in each event will directly qualify for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. This opportunity to qualify for the 2023 Pan American Games is in addition to spots available through the standard country qualification procedure, resulting in an additional berth in each 2023 Pan American Games Sailing event. The entry is awarded to the winning athletes, not the country, and is not transferable to other athletes. 

More About the 2021 Junior Pan American Games 

The Junior Pan American Games focus on promoting the next generation of athletes, many of whom will participate in the Santiago Pan American Games in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024. 

The 2021 Junior Pan American Games will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali. 

Learn more about the 2021 Junior Pan American Games

For questions regarding participation at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games, please contact US Sailing at olympics@ussailing.org.