Entries open for Invited Classes at Sailing World Cup Final

by Kate Lathouras on 1 Jul 2016 Invited and Youth class sailors planning to take part in the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final can enter online today.

Online entry and Notice of Race for the Invited Classes went live today, Thursday 1st July 2016, for the final stop of the 2016 Sailing World Cup Series that will run from December 4–11 at the St Kilda Sailing Precinct. This will be the second year the event will be held here but the first time in history the final has been held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Racing for the 14 classes begin on Thursday 8th December, except for the 2.4mR non- classified class who will begin on Tuesday sixth. This year, event organisers have catered for sailors who would usually compete in the Laser Standard, Laser Radial and 49er FX Olympic Classes but were unable to make a top 20 position. These sailors will have an opportunity to be part of the Sailing World Cup scene and compete in close proximity to the highest rated sailors in their class. Lesley Fasala, Australian Sailing manager for regattas and events, said they needed an option for local sailors who wanted to be a part of the action:

“We have an incredible opportunity at our doorstep and wanted to make sure our local sailors and anyone outside the top 20 could have an opportunity to be a part of this event. Although these sailors won’t share the same start line with the Olympic Classes they will have the opportunity to race in a high profile, prestigious regatta.”

The announcement that the Sailing World Cup Final will be coming to Melbourne is predicted to gain traction in the Invited Classes with the notion that the junior and youth classes may have the opportunity of mixing and competing alongside the newly crowned Olympic Heroes post the Rio 2016 Games in August this year. Event director and 470 gold medallist from the Sydney 2000 Games, Mark Turnbull, believes these moments are what motivate young sailors to succeed in sailing:

“Being able to sail and share the boat park with your favourite sailing hero is a rare opportunity. Our junior and youth sailors can pick up so much from these athletes and may just be the inspiration they need on the water to push just that bit more. Being post the Rio 2016 Games they may even get a chance to meet the newly crowned medallists.”

Not only will this event be a celebration of the medals achieved at the Rio 2016 Games but it also marks the start of a new Olympic cycle towards the 2020 Tokyo Games. As it stands the Sailing World Cup Final is the perfect warm–up regatta to the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships, with the first day of racing scheduled for Friday 16 December in Auckland, New Zealand. Mark Robinson, Australian Sailing's Performance Pathway Manager, believes the Sailing World Cup Final is the perfect training venue for the Australian Sailing Youth Team prior to the World Championships:

“The Australian Sailing Youth Team is looking forward to competing at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final. We’ll be using this regatta to best prepare our sailors so they can peak at the Youth World Championships the week after. Since there’s no logistical concerns (with boats being provided in New Zealand) we believe our youth sailors will benefit from the tough competition at the Sailing World Cup Final.”

For those youth sailors not competing at the ‘Youth Worlds,’ the Sailing World Cup Final is also the perfect prelude to the various youth class national championships held in South Australia in the first week of January, and the Australian Youth Championships, to be held the week after.

With no event- organised training regatta scheduled prior to the Sailing World Cup Final the event is encouraging competitors to attend the George Mac Regatta, hosted by neighbouring club, Royal Brighton Yacht Club from the 3–4 December 2016.

The George Mac Regatta is an annual regatta recognised by locals as being a high quality racing event and this year aims to attract a strong cohort in the Olympic and Invited classes. Keen interest has already been confirmed by the 2.4mR class with up to 12 boats eager to use this as preparation for the Final.

This theme has been adopted by a majority of the Olympic Class top 20 (who have accepted their official invite) who aim to use the regatta as a training event prior to the final showdown at the St Kilda Sailing Precinct.

To assist the process of attending this event hosts, Royal Brighton Yacht Club, are offering free boat storage for the week prior to and during the George Mac Regatta. For more information click here.

The Sailing World Cup Final also attracts a large junior fleet including the Optimist (Open and Intermediate), Open Bic and Minnow classes. Last year the inaugural Optimist Nations Cup was trialled and deemed a great success. So much so that China have already confirmed they will be sending a team for this year’s event. The event requires teams of six to register and uses the points obtained by each competitor during the Sailing World Cup fleet races with the lowest total point scoring team to win. To enter the Optimist Nations Cup, click here.

Early bird entry for the Sailing World Cup Final Invited Classes close on Monday 10th October.