The 2025 ILCA6 Women’s and ILCA7 Men’s World Championships took place in the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center from May 10 to 17.

The Women’s ILCA6 and Men’s ILCA7 World Championships, which were held in China for the very first time, are among global top solo yachting events. The championships drew the participation of more than 300 top-caliber yachting athletes from over 50 countries and regions, including China, the US, the UK, Australia, France, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil and Singapore, involving the highest number of countries among single yachting events ever held in Qingdao.

The ILCA World Championships are Olympic-grade class-A international events as well as important contests in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. After fierce contention, Luther from France and William from the Netherlands clinched the titles in the 2025 Women’s ILCA6 and Men’s ILCA7 World Championships, respectively, which both consisted of qualifying competitions and finals.

Qingdao started to thrive due to the vicinity to the sea, and has gained in popularity because of sailing. Thanks to its exceptionally advantageous marine resources, Qingdao has in recent years worked hard to develop aquatic sports such as yachting, and hosted top-level aquatic events, including the Olympic Sailing Race, the Sailing World Cup and the Paddleboard World Championship. These efforts have promoted the development of aquatic sports such as sailing, and resulted in the booming sports event economy.