The governing body have also requested applications to stage the 2018 edition of the Nations Cup.

First held in Genoa in 1999, the Women's Match Racing World Championship is held on an annual basis with skippers invited to attend the Championship based on their world match racing ranking position.

The winning team is crowned world champion and presented with the Francoise Pascal Memorial-Women's Match Racing World Championship Trophy.

It is named after the former French Sailing Federation vice-president, who played a key role in the promotion of women’s match racing.

The NJK Sailing Center in Helsinki, Finland is set to host the 2017 edition in June, with the governing body now seeking applications for the following three editions of the event.

They are similarly seeking to find hosts of the Youth Match Racing World Championship, which brings together the best young match racers from around the world and offers them a pathway to adult competition.

The 2017 edition of the event will be held at the Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, California from July 30 to August 5.

Applications for the women’s and youth events in 2018 are requested to be submitted to the governing body by May 5.

The deadline for the 2019 and 2020 events will be on December 1.

The Nations Cup, first introduced in 1991, is based on a series of regional finals with the top crews meeting at a Grand Final.

It is aimed at broadening the availability of match racing and providing international competition for national authorities and sailors at reasonable cost.

Applications for the 2018 event are being requested as soon as possible by World Sailing, with bids needing to be submitted by at least April 30.

Full bid guidelines can be accessed here.