SYC Shanghai Cup and Nacra 17 Asian Championship – Creating new glory

by Icarus Sports on 30 Oct 2017 SYC Shanghai Cup and Nacra 17 Asian Championship has come to a successful end today (29th October). 12 teams of 24 top sailors from Austria, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, U.S., Germany, Singapore, China and Hong Kong have competed with all their strengths in the past two days.

After multiple rounds of intense race, Team Italy eventually defeated other teams and won the trophy of “2017 Shanghai Cup”. Team US and Team Denmark claimed the second and third place respectively.

The temperature today was quite suitable for racing, and the wind speed was about 5-6 knots on average. Occasionally there were also gusts of 10 knots. After yesterday’s race, the sailors have adapted quickly to the new racing environment on Huangpu River (an area of 1.5Km length, from Gongping Road Ferry Pier to Yangtze River Pier), and gave out their very best performance today. The variety of the wind blowing and the swinging gusts brought dramatic effects to the races.

A rich skyline full of beautiful buildings with exotic architecture covers the bank of Huangpu River, which forms the Bund, “the Exhibition of World Architecture”. Across the river lie numerous soaring skyscrapers too. They form a perfect combination of modernity and history, which offers to the audience a fresh and unprecedented experience.

On the other hand, the buildings alongside the river affect dramatically the wind, creating unpredictable weather conditions for the sailors. Thus, strategy and skill have been of great significance, and the choice of route was crucial. Facing the new racing environment, unstable water and wind conditions, the sailors adjusted themselves in response to the situation and showed their creativity. The scoring gaps were quite narrow and the competition for the first place was rather fierce.

During those two racing days, the Italian partners Ruggero Tita/Caterina Baniti tried with their very best in every race and with their mature skills and well-planned strategy, they managed to win the first place with glory. Riley Gibbs and Louisa Chafee from America won the fifth place in this year's Nacra17 World Cup. In this event, their performance fluctuated a lot, and according to the average score, they ranked highly at the second place and won the silver medal.

Annet Viborg and Mathias Borreskov from Team 1 of Denmark won the bronze medal. Besides, Team Austria, New Zealand, Team 2 of Denmark, Team Brazil, Team 2 of China, Team Germany, Team Singapore, Team Hong Kong, Team 1 of China ranked from the fourth to the twelfth place respectively. Zhou Jie/ Dong Ying and Shi Junjie/Hu Xiaoxiao from SYCR Nacra17 sailing team, paired up and represented China to participate in the race, showcasing the spirit of Chinese sailors to the world. This is a milestone of SYCR’s exploration from popularising the sport to cultivating professional athletes. On the fifth race, Shi Junior/Hu Xiaoxiao from Team 2 of China gradually stepped into their best state and finally achieved to take the first place.

The awards ceremony was held at Zhiyang section of Riverside Green Space. The president of the Chinese Yachting Association, Ms. Zhang Xiaodong, the president of World Sailing International Nacra 17 Class Association, Marcus Spillane, the Director of Shanghai Hongkou District Administration of Sports, Ms. Zhou Jing, and the president of Asian Sailing Federation, Mr.Malav Shroff, awarded the golden medal winners; The president of Shanghai Yuyuan Jewelry Group Itd, Mr. Sun Yunfei and the Chaiman of Shanghai Yacht Club and Resort, Mr. Shi Lixian awarded the sailors winning the second place; The marketing director of Bright Dairy and Food Co. Ltd, Gong Qun and the marketing director of Yunnan Metropolitan Construction Investment Group, Ms. Yang Mingyan awarded the bronze medal winners. Shi Junjie and Hu Xiaoxiao from Team 2 of China won the prize of Best Asian Team and were awarded by Mr. Malav Shroff, president of Asian Yachting Federation. Congratulations to all sailors!

2017 SYC Shanghai Cup and Nacra 17 Asian Championship originates from the first international sailing regatta “Shanghai Cup” held by Shanghai Yacht Club (SYC) in 1873. This glorious comeback after 144 years aimed at passing on the cultural heritage of water sports lasting a century, and building a new global brand of international sailing competition whose IP is owned by Shanghai.

The whole success of this event added glamour to Shanghai’s image as a host city of major international sport events, and exhibited Shanghai’s major achievements on culture, modernisation and environmental protection to China, Asia and the world. In addition, the rebuilding of the brand helped Shanghai in developing itself into a world famous sports city, and will continue to drive up the Chinese people’s passion for sailing and promote water sports represented by sailing.