When Sweden was assigned to host the 1912 Olympic Games two cities wanted to be the venue for the sailing program.

Gothenburg claimed that it was a much shorter passage for the oversees entries (about 525 nautical miles (972 km)) than it was to Stockholm.

A inner and an outer course was created of the coast of Nynäshamn: A maximum of 2 boats per country per class was allowed.

This had a lot to do with national traditions as well as with the fact that there were no standardized boat types with uniform building instructions and measurements.

Several initiatives were started to create a formula that made it possible to have boats race each other without having to calculate the final result.