THE TOUR
A new European circuit for the Formula 18 class
The F18 European Tour is a new continental circuit created to structure and strengthen the Formula 18 racing season across Europe.
Launched in 2026 under the supervision of the International F18 Class Association, the Tour brings together four major regattas hosted in four different European countries. Each event remains organized by its local organizing authority, while the overall circuit is coordinated by the European Tour Organizing Authority (AOET).
The objective is clear: build a calendar based on fewer but stronger events, better coordinated and spaced throughout the season in order to maximise participation and sporting visibility.
Teams compete across the four Acts of the Tour, with the three best results counting toward the final ranking. Points are awarded at each event according to the official results, combining a performance score and a participation bonus. At the end of the season, the team with the highest total is crowned F18 European Tour Champion.
When the F18 World Championship takes place in Europe, it automatically becomes one of the Tour’s Acts. When it is hosted outside Europe, the European Championship becomes the central event of the circuit, gathering the strongest teams of the season.
The ambition of the class is for the European Tour to become a long-term annual fixture, providing a clear backbone to the European calendar and bringing together the entire F18 community around a structured and attractive circuit.
How the Tour Works
The F18 European Tour is built around four major regattas, called Acts, organized in four different European countries throughout the season.
Each Act remains an independent international event, organized by its local club under its own Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions, while contributing to the overall ranking of the Tour.
All crews competing in one or more Acts automatically appear in the European Tour ranking, provided they comply with the eligibility requirements of the class.
Scoring system
At each Act, teams earn points based on their final position in the overall results.
The scoring combines:
• a performance component of up to 100 points
• a fixed participation bonus of 20 points
This system rewards both sporting performance and consistent participation throughout the season.
Overall ranking
The final ranking of the Tour is established based on the three best results obtained across the four Acts.
If a team competes in all four events, the lowest score is discarded. If a team competes in fewer Acts, all results count.
At the end of the final Act, the team with the highest number of points is crowned:
Winner of the F18 European Tour.
Several additional trophies are awarded based on the same overall ranking, including Master, Youth, Women, Mixed and Family trophies, highlighting the diversity of the F18 community.
Circuit regulations
The General Circuit Regulations define the participation rules, eligibility criteria and scoring system of the F18 European Tour 2026.
All teams competing in one or more Acts of the Tour are invited to read the document carefully.
Voices behind the F18 European Tour
Olivier Bovyn
President of the International Formula 18 Class Association:
“The F18 has always been an open, international and unifying class. This Tour will provide a harmonised, ambitious and realistic framework to strengthen our presence in Europe and support the organising clubs that have kept the class alive for more than thirty years. I am convinced that a clear and attractive circuit like this will bring in new teams and encourage both former sailors and big names in the sport catamaran world to come back and race in F18.”
Victorien Erussard
President of the French F18 Class and co-founder of the circuit:
“The F18 remains one of the most exciting classes in terms of sensations, sporting level and accessibility. To continue to exist alongside new foiling platforms and increasingly crowded calendars, we need to structure our season and give crews a clear course to follow. The European Tour was born from this collective will: to unite rather than to fragment.”
Patrick Demesmaeker
Belgian sailor and co-initiator of the project:
“We needed a European backbone: a circuit that’s easy to understand, reasonable in the number of events, and attractive enough to trigger a snowball effect. Numbers attract numbers: if we race in the right places at the right time, the fleet will naturally come back.”