Introduction To The Contender
The Contender was originally designed back in 1967 by Australian Ben Lexcen as a potential
Olympic successor to the Finn class. The boat won the 1969 Olympic trials, but for a variety
of reasons was never adopted as an Olympic class. This was probably something of a blessing,
as the class has thrived ever since.
The Contender Class is truly International - as well as a strong UK fleet, there are
fleets in Australasia, North America and right across Europe.
The class rules permit construction in GRP, wood, and GRP/wood composite, and unlike many
classes, all the build options are equally competitive: in recent years the World
championship has been won by both GRP and all wood boats, and the 2002 European championship winning boat was a composite.
The boat has a trapeze which allows the sailor to harness the power of the wind very
effectively. The Contender is regarded by many dinghy sailors to be technically challenging
to sail.
Click here to discuss the Contender dinghy in
the Go Sail forums.
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