Argo Group Gold Cup - Initial invitations issued

by Talbot Wilson on 16 Apr 2013 The 2013 Argo Group Gold Cup is set to get underway on October 8th. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and Argo Group have now issued invitations for the event. Match racing for the King Edward XVII Gold Cup will take place on Hamilton Harbour in Bermuda with the finals scheduled for Sunday October 13th.

Taylor Canfield, (USVI) USone Sailing Team, confirmed that he will be back to defend his 2012 title in the Gold Cup. Speaking about his fourth Gold Cup competition, he said, 'I am most definitely looking forward to coming back to Bermuda to defend our Argo Group Gold Cup title. USone Sailing Team is ecstatic to be a 2013 Alpari World Match Race Tour Card Holder.'

'Making the Tour has been a dream of mine for several years now. While we are the ‘rookie’ team this year we are looking forward to giving it our all. Hopefully, we’ll be carrying over some of the momentum from the end of the 2012 season including our win in the Gold Cup. There is an incredible line-up on the Tour this year and it is an honor to sail against the best.'

'The Argo Group Gold Cup is a great event on the AWMRT,' Canfield continued. 'It allows younger up and coming teams to get a taste of the tour and a chance to compete against the best in the world. Having sailed in three Argo Gold Cup's as a non-tour card holder, we are really looking forward to return as a part of the AWMRT.'

'While the boats— classic, full-keeled IODs— are quite unique compared to boats in any other venue,' Canfield noted, 'the variety of sailing conditions and beautiful, but variable weather make this event one of the best in the world. Bermuda has been an incredible place to sail. I started in the RenRe Junior Gold Cup and now I’m going back to Bermuda as title defender… It’s a dream.'

Automatic invitations went to the eight Alpari World Match Racing Tour Card Holders and eight more invitations went to top sailors in the ISAF Match Race ‘Open’ Rankings, to some past participants in the Gold Cup and to skippers with top match racing records over years on the match racing scene. Four more entries, unless they have already accepted, automatically come from winners of qualifying events - the Knickerbocker Cup and the Detroit Cup in the USA, the Polish Match event and the Bermuda National Match Race Championship.

Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch, another Tour Card Holder, has also accepted along with the great French match racer Mathieu Richard. Richard was a Gold Cup champion in 2007.

The 2013 event will be sailed with the same 20-team format used for the first time in 2012. This Argo Group Gold Cup format is unique on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. It now allows for two 10-team groups. Skippers in each group are ranked and divided by Alpari World Match Racing Tour officials and the organizers at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

Rankings are based on international AWMRT and ISAF rankings and other performance factors. Each group will sail a round robin with their top four teams moving directly to the quarterfinals .

Alpari World Match Racing Tour Card Holders for 2013 include Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team, Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team, Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch, Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team, Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing Team, Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing, Taylor Canfield (USVI) USone and 2012 Tour winner Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar.

The deadline for acceptance by the initial group is April 26. After this date, the Tour Card Holder’s entry in the event will not be guaranteed. The selection committee will consider additional ranked skippers and other applicants to be invited to fill any available slots.

2013 Alpari World Match Racing Tour Calendar:

Stage 1: May 15 – 20 - Match Race Germany, Langenargen, Germany
Stage 2: May 28 – June 2 - Korea Match Cup, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Stage 3: July 1 – 6 - Stena Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, Sweden
Stage 4: August 6 – 11 - Chicago Match Cup, Chicago, USA
Stage 5: Sep 17 – 22 – Dutch Match Cup, Lelystad, Netherlands
Stage 6: Oct 7 – 13 - Argo Group Gold Cup, Hamilton, Bermuda
Stage 7: Dec 2 – 7 - Monsoon Cup, K.Terengganu, Malaysia

2013 Tour Card Holders:

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Stena Sailing Team
Taylor Canfield (ISV) USone
Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Sailing Team
Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Vannes Agglo Sailing Team
Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing
Ian Williams (GBR) GAC World Match Racing Tour website