Kiel Week History
On July 23, 1882, 20 yachts start at the first regatta. This is the hour when Kieler Woche or Kiel Week was born. Kiel Week is the greatest sailing event in the world and the biggest summer festival in Northern Europe.
As a regular event during the last week of June, the Land Capital of Schleswig-Holstein transforms itself into a pulsating international meeting place. Politicians and diplomats, scientists and artists, sailors and sportspeople from about 70 nations allow themselves a tryst in the cosmopolitan city on the Fjord. This international flavor and its way of bringing people from different countries together make the Kieler Woche an event which attracts worldwide attention.
Kieler Woche regularly becomes a rendezvous for artists from many countries. The awarding of Kiel's cultural prize, exhibitions, theater performances for adults and children, street art and concerts from choir offerings to classical music and pop and rock all influence the variety of things happening during this cultural week. Though the sporting emphasis clearly lies on yachting during Kieler Woche, there are still international and national competitions and even German championships in more than 20 other sports as well. The sporting panoply extends from canoeing to handball, from cycling and rhythmic gymnastics to a pupils' town marathon.
The sportive highlight, of Kiel Week, is the Olympic part which is the largest International Sailing Federation (ISAF) grade-one ranking event in the world. This includes the 2.4mR Class for handicapped sailors, the so-called International part with 17 classes, and the off-shore sailing with round-about 260 yachts as well as the IMS 600 European championships. More than 5,000 sailors from around 50 nations are on the starting line competing in International and Olympic Classes. A total of 2,000 boats compete in 420 races on ten courses throughout the nine days of Kiel Week. From the up-and-coming Europe sailor to the experienced off-shore crack, from disabled world champion to Olympics winner, from skiff to keelboat, from kite-surfing to windjammer parade—Kiel Week invariably attracts the world elite of sailing to a rendezvous and captures everything sailing is about in just one week of time.
In December of 2001, the Chairman of Kieler Woche, Mr. Dieter Ruemmeli, was approached by Heiko Kroeger about the integration of disabled sailing in the Olympic part. Within three days, the Chairmen of all area Yacht Clubs unanimously approved the integration of the 2.4mR into Kiel Week. In 2002, the International 2.4mR was elected to represent the Paralympic sailing at Kieler Woche where 21 boats competed. The first winner of the “Magaret e Lohfeld Tropy” was Heiko Kroeger from Germany. In 2003, Jens Als Andersen from Denmark was the winner of the 13 boat 2.4mR fleet. In 2004, Heiko Kroeger from Germany repeated his performance from 2002 and topped the 16 boat 2.4mR fleet. For his performance, he was awarded the “Roosevelt Trophy”. This trophy was given by the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, and is annually awarded to the best sailor in the Olympic part of Kieler Woche.