The Vintage Yachting Games are an international Quadrennial multi class

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

event for former Olympic classes and the former Classes of the Paralympic Games. The Vintage Games is held every four years.Vintage Yachting Games
/ref> The idea behind the Vintage is to Organize a four yearly high-end event in the calendars of all the former (Paralympic) Olympic Classes after their discontinuation at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. First the idea was discusses and developed locally by

Rudy den Outer Rudy den Outer (born 22 July 1954 in Rotterdam) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 2008 Vintage Yachting Games – Soling, 2008 Vintage Yachting Games in Medemblik, as helmsman in the Dutch Soling ''Sophie's Ch ...

and representatives of several Dutch class organizations of former Olympic classes (Martijn van der Driest of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, Harold Wijgers of

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

, Johan Offermans of

Soling The Soling is an open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the 1972 Olympics (Kiel) until the 2000 Olympics (Sydney) as " Open Three Person Keelboat". Besides the Olympic career of the Soli ...

, Michiel van Dis of

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

and Hans Nadorp of 5.5 Metre). In the next phase the presidents/chairman of the international classes became involved (Jan Abrahamsen of Europe class, Theo Meus of O-Jolle, Alberto Barenghi of Flying Dutchman, Rose Hoeksema of

and Rupert Fisher of Dragon). The first edition was held in Medemblik 20–27 September 2008. During the closing ceremony the next host country, Italy, received the Vintage flag from the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Medemblik, Th. van Eijk. The Vintage Yachting Games Organization (VYGO), a foundation under

Dutch Law The Netherlands uses civil law. The role of case law is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law. The Dutch system of law is based on the Fr ...

, was founded on 11 December 2006 by Rudy den Outer, Nancy Schoof and Sebastian Hopf. The VYGO has since become the governing body of the Vintage Yachting Games, whose structure and actions are defined by her constitution and charter. The VYGO’s ownership lies with the Vintage Yachting Classes.

Vintage Yachting Games principles

The Vintage Yachting Games are governed by the following set of principles: * Charter Vintage Yachting Games * Constitution Vintage Yachting Games * VYGrules * Standard VYG Notice of Race * Standard VYG Sailing Instructions

Charter Vintage Yachting Games

The constitution of the Vintage Yachting Games Organization is based upon the Vintage Yachting Games Charter. Decisions made by the board or supervisory board and even race management must be in line with this charter: # Sailing is a sport to be performed with light sailing vessels (yachts). Sailing is done by sailors. Sailors participate in the sport in order to win races or series. This winning must be reached only by fair sailing, superior speed, strategically and tactical maneuvering, use of knowledge, excellent performance of skill and showing correct behavior # The Vintage Yachting Games is the result of the organized action, carried out under the authority of the Stichting Vintage Yachting Games Organization (VYGO), of all participating individuals and entities who like the game of Sailing. Its symbol is the yachts logo # All Individual Competitors, Judges, Coaches, Measurers, Members of the Regatta Committee, Sponsors, Organizers, Supervisory Board Members as well as Board Members regard the Competing Sailor in the Vintage Yachting Games as the most important stakeholder of the Vintage Yachting Games. They must act in order to guard the interest of those Sailors. The way active and competitive sailors want to play the game of Sailing is paramount for the Vintage Yachting Games # The interest of Vintage Yachting Games sailors in a specific class will be guarded by the relevant International Class Organizations (ICO) participating in the Vintage Yachting Games Organization’s Supervisory Board # During the Vintage Yachting Games the sailors represent their National Class Organization (NCO) In the absence of a NCO the relevant ICO will act in her place # Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with the object Vintage Yachting Games and its organization

Constitution of Vintage Yachting Games

The constitution governs the way of management of the VYGO. This is the

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

under Dutch law of the VYGO foundation.

VYG rules

Describes under what conditions the Vintage Yachting Games edition will be sailed, organized and managed.

Standard VYG Notice of Race (NOR)

This document is the basis of the final NOR that is determined in cooperation by the Host club and the VYGO. The final NOR must be published at least one year before the start of the first race of a Vintage Yachting Games edition.

Standard VYG Sailing Instructions (SI)

This document is the basis of the final SI that is determined in cooperation by the Host club and the VYGO. The final SI must be published at least one month before the first race of a Vintage Yachting Games edition.

Vintage Yachting Games Event Structure

The structure of an edition of the Vintage Yachting Games is similar to that of an Olympic sailing event. It consists of: * Opening ceremony if possible with

fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

* A series of races per Vintage Yachting Class (at least 7 scheduled) * A closing ceremony that includes the Vintage InterPares (VIP) race and medal presentation. Also the country trophy will be handed to the winning country. * Passing of the Vintage Yachting Games Flag to the next host country * Celebration

Fleet review

The fleet review of is a part of the opening ceremony of the Vintage. The element can be compared with the athletes parade into the stadium at the opening of the Olympics.

The races of the Vintage Yachting Games

Each edition of the Vintage Yachting Games will have a series of at least seven scheduled races per Vintage Yachting Class. At least five races must be completed to make a valid series. The top three of each Vintage class are granted the right to fly the Vintage Yachting Games logo in gold, silver or bronze in her mainsail for the next four years.

Vintage InterPares race

As a part of the closing ceremony the winning helmsman of each class will sail one final race in a former Olympic class. The winner will be win the title of Vintage InterPares (VIP) and is granted the right to fly the Vintage Yachting Games logo in her sail for the next four years. The VIP race is the substitute for the medalrace during the Olympic sailing event. In 2008 the 12' Dinghy was used for the VIP race.

Country Trophy

The country trophy is handed to the national team of the best performing country during an edition of the Vintage. This trophy is donated by the artist, sailor, International Judge and former international umpire

Menno Meyer Menno is a Dutch language given name of Old Frisian origin. It was made popular by the influential Frisian religious reformer Menno Simons ( West Frisian: ''Minne Simens''), and the name was spread by his followers, the Mennonites. ''Menno'' is th ...

Venues

Classes

To become a Vintage Yachting Class a class must: * Be a former Olympic class or former Class in the Paralympics * Still be sailed in

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

s in five or more countries * Have one single set of class rules * Be represented in the VYGO's supervisory board. The Vintage Yachting Classes consist of 13 Classes. The Vintage Yachting Classes are eligible for competition in the Vintage Yachting Games. * • = Event in this year * VIP = Used for the Vintage Inter Pares race * = Open event * = Female event * = Male event

Facts and figures

These facts and figures aere based upon the entries documented in the Official Vintage Results and on the Wikipedia pages: *

2008 Vintage Yachting Games The 2008 Vintage Yachting Games was the first post-Olympic multi-class sailing event for discontinued Olympic classes. The event took place on the IJsselmeer of Medemblik, the Netherlands, from 20 September to 27 September 2008. A total of 66 sai ...

Country trophy

Medal table

Statistics

The statistics are based upon the boats that are taken into account in the final results. For 2008 this were all entries. For 2012 only the paid entries.

Vintage InterPares

Medal leaders (by Vintage)

Multiple medalists

Ranking of Vintage Gold medalists

The ranking is done based upon the 1964 Olympic scoring system. Best seven races count. If less than seven races are sailed 0 points are given to the cancelled (can) races.

References

Information about the former Olympic classes can be verified in the book: Vintage Yachting Games, Olympic Classes {{Olympic class sailboats Vintage Yachting Games Sports organizations established in 2006 Quadrennial sporting events Yachting races