As a nation keen on sport, we are all looking forward to the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, a slightly sour note was struck earlier this week, as the International Sailing Federation announced that the Yngling class will not be part of the sporting event.

During the last two Olympic Games, Britain has won gold medals in this event and this latest news has not been well received by the individuals responsible for this previous success.

Sarah Webb, who, along with Sarah Ayton and Pippa Wilson, won a gold medal in the event in Beijing this year, has spoken of her intense disappointment.

The International Sailing Federation has replaced the Yngling class with the Elliot 6m for keelboat match racing. This replacement has come as no consolation to Webb, who believes that she is not “big enough to race” the “heavy, overpowered” Elliot 6ms.

The Royal Yachting Association will reconsider its 2012 programme in the light of this announcement from the International Sailing Federation. However, the racing manager and performance director of the association, John Derbyshire, has revealed that the officials are looking forward to the challenges of racing in the Elliot 6m.

Derbyshire also spoke of his desire for the ISAF to make the qualification process for the keelboat match racing event clear as quickly as possible. Only once sailors and their teams have been made aware of the exact process can “their 2012 campaigns” be finalised.

The Olympic sailing events will undoubtedly still be exciting despite this alteration. British fans of sailing who are keen to cheer on Team GB will have to make their way to Portland and Weymouth when the event begins in the summer of 2012.