Four Australians have been announced among the 59 Race Officials appointed to the Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition.

The International Technical Officials from 33 nations are spread across the Technical Delegates, Race Management Team, International Jury, Technical Committee, Event Disciplinary Investigating Officer and Chief Medical Officer. 

The four Australians included in the announcement are:

1. David Brookes - Deputy Principal Race Officer (Race Management Team)
2. Hugh Leicester - Course Representative (Race Management Team)
3. Rosemary Collins - International Judge (International Jury)
4. David Tillet - Event Disciplinary Investigating Officer

“On behalf of Australian Sailing I would like to congratulate David, Hugh, Rosemary and David. Being appointed to an Olympic Games is the pinnacle achievement for international Race Officers, and to see so many Australians appointed for Paris is an extraordinary feat,” said Australian Sailing President Alistair Murray AM.

“They will be representing themselves, their clubs and their country on the highest stage and I wish them the best of luck. Officiating is a fun and rewarding way to volunteer and contribute to the fair and safe running of sailing competitions, and I encourage anyone who is interested in following in their footsteps consider becoming an Australian Sailing Accredited Official today.”

CREDIT World Sailing

The announcement includes a 50-50 gender split in the key Technical Delegate and Chief/Vice-Chief positions:

• World Sailing head of sustainability and two-time Paralympian Alexandra Rickham and Brazil’s Ricardo Navarro will be the Technical Delegates
• Spain’s Ana Sanchez Del Campo will chair the International Jury with Estonia's Andrus Poksi as Vice Chair
• Pinar Coskuner Genc from Turkey will be the Principal Race Officer (PRO) with Australia's David Brookes as her Deputy PRO
• Belgium's Jurgen Cluytmans will chair the Technical Committee, with Spain’s Pilar Lopez acting as Vice Chair.

Pinar Coskuner Genç from Turkey will head the Race Management Team as the Principal Race Officer (PRO) and Australia's David Brookes will act as her Deputy PRO. Both Coskuner Genç and Brookes attended the Paris 2024 Sailing Test Event and hold several years of international experience across the sport.

Coskuner Genc and Brookes will lead a team of four Course Representatives, including Aussie Hugh Leicester, responsible for running the racing for each of the Olympic Events, with nine further International Race Officers supporting the team.

The Technical Committee will bring together nine International Measurers and will be chaired by Belgium's Jurgen Cluytmans, with Spain’s Pilar Lopez acting as Vice Chair. The team includes International Measurers with specific expertise on the six pieces of Olympic Equipment that will be in Marseille. They will be responsible for ensuring that each boat complies with the rules.

In addition, Australia's David Tillett has been appointed as the Event Disciplinary Investigating Officer (EDIO) and will be responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct. Responsible for ensuring the health and well-being of the athletes during the Games, Croatia’s Nebojsa Nikolic has been appointed as the Chief Medical Officer, having completed the role at the past two Olympic Games.

Four Digital Race Official appointments have been made, utilising technology and drone footage to assist the Race Management and International Jury teams in their decision making.

The Olympic Sailing Competition commences on 28 July and runs through to 9 August. Officials will arrive from 20 July with Equipment Inspection commencing on 20 July.

Click here for the full list of Paris 2024 Race Official Appointments