At its recent meeting the IJCA World Council has voted to extend the deadline for qualification until March 31, 2012. This changes the previous deadline of December 31, 2011.

You may have heard the the 2012 World Championship will be an “open” event, but you still need to meet a few minimum requirements before your entry will be accepted.

Here is what you now need to do in order to enter the 2012 J/24 World Championship:

1. Be a fully paid member of the J/24 Class in 2011. Obviously, you will also need to be a paid class member in 2012 as well.

2. Helm a boat in at least one J/24 Class sanctioned district, regional, national or continental level event ending before March 31, 2012.

This allows for sailors to complete their required regatta participation at events such as the 2012 Midwinter Championship or the Regata Copa Mexico.

Please note that the requirement is to compete in a district or higher “level” regatta. This does not necessarily mean a district championship event. You do not need to be a member of the district, region or country in which you complete your qualification regatta.

Also note that entry to any J/24 World Championship is based on the helmsperson meeting the entry requirements. You cannot crew in a district or higher level event and expect to then helm a boat at the world championship.