The J/70 Story in Denmark is Special & Successful!
(Copenhagen, Denmark)- The success of the Danish J/70 class and the Danish J/70 Sailing League has proven to be a great model for developing sailors of all ages and for the growth of participation at sailing clubs for women and youth, too!
We received a great class promo presentation from Peter Wolsing- he’s a Board Member of J/70 Class Denmark, Co-founder of the sailing league concept and WOW (Women on Water). And, he’s Manager of Sailing Innovation Lab (email- [email protected]). Here are some of the highlights below.
The story starts back in 2013, when Peter Wolsing, as project manager for a future Danish Sailing League, called “Sejlsportsligaen”, had to find a boat that was suitable for league sailing. Peter, who knew the J/Boat’s quality as a former J/24 sailor and the experience of working with the J/80 class at the Royal Danish Yacht Club, had no doubts after tests with other sports boats. THE CHOICE WAS J/70! Seven boats were ordered for Sejlsportsligaen for the 2014 season.
THE SPREAD OF THE J/70 FLEET
The expansion of the J/70 fleet in Denmark has since the start been mainly driven by a conscious strategy at Sejlsportsligaen. Since 2016, Sejlsportsligaen has sold the entire ”old” league fleet to the Danish sailing clubs every year after the end of the season. Today, more than 70 J/70 boats have been sold to clubs this way. That is why Denmark probably stands out compared to many other countries. Today, the fleet is around 120 J/70s, with only 10% privately owned and the rest owned by sailing clubs and Sejlsportsligaen! Across Denmark, the sailing clubs with J/70s currently counts over 35 nationwide!
BUILDING UP J/70 CLUB ENVIRONMENTS
Initially, the sailing clubs primarily used the boat to train for participation in Sejlsportsligaen. But, it soon became apparent that the boat could be used for a wide group of sailors and, thus, lay the basis for attractive club development and get more sailors on the water.
Sailors in J/70 clubs fall neatly into these four categories:
• YOUNGSTERS (13 – 23 YEARS OLD)
• WOW (WOMEN ON WATER)
• LEAGUE SAILORS (MIXED)
• BLUE BROTHERS (OLDER SAILORS)
THE AARHUS SAILING CLUB CASE
The most successful J/70 club case is Aarhus Sailing Club. They bought seven of Sejlsportsligaen’s J/70s. In just four years, they have gained over 150 new club members, who are divided between Youngsters, WOW and league sailors!! The seven boats sail roughly 7 days a week, 365 days a year!
Aarhus Sailing Club has created a modern sailing universe with ”easy sailing” for busy urban people. The boats are in the water ready for sailing in just 5 minutes. Fast on the water, 3-5 short races and back to the clubhouse where there is plenty of social fun camaraderie. All communication is conducted via social media- Facebook.
Sejlsportsligaen
https://www.facebook.com/sejlsportsligaen
Danish J/70 Class
https://www.facebook.com/J70ClassDenmark
SEJLSPORTSLIGAEN SUCCESS
Sejlsportsligaen has been the focal point for the J/70 success in Denmark. In 2024, four events have been held in the 1st division with 21 clubs and four events in the 2nd division with 24 clubs.
In addition, the annual WOW (Women on Water) event is wildly popular, with 21 women’s teams! All sailing takes place in Sejlsportsligaen’s J/70 fleet, which is renewed every year.
Here is an astonishing statistic- in the sailing league, OVER 33% OF THE PARTICIPANTS ARE WOMEN!!
WOW IS A HUGE BOOST FOR WOMEN IN SAILING!
The creation of Women on Water (WOW) has massively boosted women participation in sailing. Female sailors have been given a new point of departure from where they can explore new ways of sailing – with racing at all levels. New female sailors are joining every day! Old friendships are rekindled in this new community. We see increased activity in the local sailing clubs. We see local sailing clubs given new life as a result of the J/70 community where WOW plays a big part. We see WOW sailors training and racing 365 days every year.
In 2023, we held the final of the Women Sailing Champions League in Denmark with 32 women’s teams from 11 nations. The event was over-subscribed! WOW was invented in 2018 by the same people behind Sejlsportsligaen- Peter Wolsing.
TRY A J/70 CONCEPT
One of the great successes in spreading the J/70 has been that we have two ”test boats” that interested clubs have been able to borrow for a period of time for “test sails”. This has pushed the process in the clubs. Then, both supporters and opponents of a ”J/70 project” can try the real boat. A process that almost always ends with a ”go”. The J/70 test boats are tested by 10 to 20 sailing clubs per year.
THE J/70 FLEET IN DENMARK
The chart above shows how the J/70 fleet is distributed in Denmark. We expect this development trend to continue, namely that the number of club-owned boats will continue to be by far the largest share.
We also see that there will be more private owners and we will, of course, work to ensure that new sailing talents will choose to sail the J/70 – either in the league tournaments or in the group of privately owned boats.