Australia versus USA for Swedish Tour crown

by Sean McNeill on 2 Jun 2005 With one stage remaining in the 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour, Ed Baird (USA) and Peter Gilmour (AUS) are tied at the top of the Championship leaderboard, setting up a winner-take-all final event.

Whoever places higher at the season-concluding Swedish Match Cup (Marstrand, Sweden, July 4-10), will be crowned champion of the sixth Swedish Match Tour.

Baird, of Team Alinghi, has been at, or near the top of the leaderboard, since winning the season-opening Portugal Match Cup last July. And after winning the Nippon Cup last November he carried a 20-point lead into the winter recess.

Gilmour, of the Pizza-La Sailing Team, trailed Baird by 23 points when the Tour’s sixth season resumed at the beginning of May.

Following two wins and a second in the mad month of May, compared with a fifth and two fourth places for Baird, the Aussie overhauled to open a 10-point advantage on the American in cumulative points.

Since Gilmour has sailed in all seven stages of the 2004-’05 season, he discards his worst finish; a fifth at the Portugal Match Cup. The loss of 10 points has created the tie for the championship, each with 102 points.

Baird, who has three career victories on the Tour, is seeking his first Swedish Match Tour championship. Gilmour, the Tour’s reigning champion and career victories leader, is bidding to become its first repeat champion.

He set records for most cumulative points, net points and best championship scoreline, as he dominated last season.

Never in the history of the Swedish Match Tour has the championship come down to the final event - and never has more been at stake.

The Tour champion will win $60,000 of the $200,000 bonus purse awarded by the Tour, a BMW 545i Touring, provided by Tour partner BMW - and the official Swedish Match Tour championship trophy, from Tour sponsor Wedgwood.

‘This season has been outstanding for the Swedish Match Tour,’ said Director Scott MacLeod. ‘We signed new partners BMW and Sebago, have increased the television exposure and value of the Tour, and now we’re capping it with a winner-take-all finale. We couldn’t have scripted a better ending.’

Baird and Gilmour are the only two in the running for the championship. Russell Coutts (NZL), of Coutts Racing, is third, 32 points in arrears. Regardless of what happens between Baird and Gilmour, Coutts can’t win the championship.

Swedish Match Tour scoring regulations count a skipper’s six best events. Depending on the number of events they have raced, it allows them to discard as many to two events (not including events marked as ‘Did Not Compete’).

Should a skipper do all eight events, he is awarded two discards. If he competes in seven events, he is allowed one discard.

‘We don’t believe there’s an opportunity for skippers, the younger ones in particular, to compete at every Tour event,’ MacLeod said. ‘Counting six events allows a skipper to gain the top eight or win the championship without having to do all of the events.’

At the conclusion of Sweden, Gilmour will get a second discard (for competing in all eight stages of the 2004-’05 Tour) and Baird will get one discard (for competing in seven stages). The tie remains with the additional discards.

Baird and Gilmour will be battling at the Swedish Match Cup amid another competitive lineup. As was the theme at the past three events, the field of 16 includes nine skippers representing syndicates entered in the 32nd America’s Cup.

Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago, Travel Places, Trident Studio and Wedgwood.

For more information on the Swedish Match Tour, its competitors and events, please visit the official Tour Web site, www.swedishmatchtour.com. Swedish Match Tour television programs may be viewed by clicking on the Tour television button on the home page of the Web site.