SAEM Vendée has formalized the broad outlines of its new regulations for the 2028 Vendée Globe. There will be 40 places but in order to qualify for the next edition, two conditions are required: completing a major race alone and ranking well. of the IMOCA Globe Series Championship. This 10th edition is the first race to score points to qualify for the next world tour in 2028.
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A four-year qualification system will be put in place to participate in the next Vendée Globe. For 2028, there will therefore be two conditions to meet in order to ensure qualification: the first consists of finishing ranked in a grade 2 solo race of the IMOCA Globe Series Championship, in a time not exceeding that of the winner increased by 50%.
In addition, skippers will score points each time they participate in the IMOCA Globe Series Championship races from the Vendée Globe 2024 until June 30, 2028. The number of points awarded will be more or less significant depending on the races. disputed. But there is no indication that sporting results will be taken into account as some skippers requested.
The world tours (Vendée Globe and The Ocean Race) are classified as grade 1, races of more than 2,500 miles, such as the Route du Rhum, the New York Vendée Les Sables d'Olonne or the Vendée Arctic Les Sables d'Olonne. Olonne, in grade 2, races between 2,500 and 1,000 miles in grade 3 and races less than 1,000 miles in grade 4.
At the end of the four-year cycle, the three races where the skippers performed least well will be removed from the final calculation. This also makes it possible not to compete in certain races and therefore to deviate from the circuit for a given period, in order to take into account all the events that sailors may experience, such as maternity. In addition, sailors who are injured or suffering from an illness can plan their recovery without compromising their chances of participating in the next edition of the Vendée Globe. International teams who wish to carry out public relations missions abroad for several months will not be penalized either. It remains to be seen how this will be taken into account.
At the same time, the organizer will benefit from three invitations or “wild cards” which it can allocate at its discretion at the end of the qualification process. It is surprising that SAEM is returning to this number of 3 “wild cards” instead of 1.
Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Globe and of the Vendée Departmental Council, is delighted with this new qualification system for the Vendée Globe 2028. “ This is the result of consultation work with all stakeholders. It is important to us that the sporting aspect is valued while integrating the hazards that each skipper encounters. The diversity committee that we set up played its full part in this work, as did the main principles proposed by the IMOCA class. ».
Boats with a measurement certificate after January 1, 2005 can again be selected for the 2028 Vendée Globe, just like for the 2024 edition.
The boats aim to no longer use fossil energy in order to produce the electricity necessary to operate the devices on board, except for safety reasons. Work in this direction will begin in order to define with the IMOCA class the conditions to meet this challenge.
As announced last February, the objective is to equip the entire fleet with oceanographic measuring instruments selected by UNESCO, the project leader. These sensors will evolve over time, to allow the collection of various data and their analysis by scientists around the world.
For this 2024 edition, the objective set was to equip 50% of the fleet. Objective achieved: 25 skippers will take on board oceanographic measuring instruments on November 10.
