Sailing had been an official Olympic sport since the first Games in 1896. Although Kiel is some 550 miles north of Munich, and therefore hardly met the requirement that event venues had to be as close as possible to the Olympic Village there, the sailing competition inevitably had to take place on open water. This was the second time the sailing races (seven for each of the six sailing disciplines) had been held at Kiel-Schiksee in the Bay of Kiel. The first time had been during the 1936 Olympics.