King Edward VII Gold Cup Regatta

by Sean McNeill on 6 Oct 2007 The King Edward VII Gold Cup, Stage 13 of the World Match Racing Tour will be sailed in Hamilton, Bermuda from Oct. 9-14, 2007.

Organized by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, 21 teams including the reigning event champion and runner-up, the America’s Cup-winning helmsman, the world’s top three and six of the top 10-ranked match-racers and the No. 4-ranked women’s match-racer will competed for a prize purse of $100,000 (first place, $35,000).

The teams will race on 33 footer one design match racing boats on Hamilton Harbour

Who’s Entered?

Robbie Allam (GBR) — Competing in first Gold Cup

Brian Angel (USA) King Harbor Match Racing Team — Winner of 2007 US Match Racing National Championship

Glenn Astwood (BDA) — Winner of 2007 Bermuda National Match Racing Championship

Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi — America’s Cup-winning helmsman for Alinghi

Sally Barkow (USA) Team Seven — Women’s No. 4-ranked match-racer

Johnie Berntsson (SWE) — World No. 18-ranked match-racer

Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza — World No. 3-ranked match-racer

Scott Dickson (USA) — Competing in seventh consecutive Gold Cup

Jon Eriksson (FIN) — Competing in first Gold Cup

Daniel Glomb (BRA) — Competing in first Gold Cup

Björn Hansen (SWE) — World No. 6-ranked match-racer

Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge — Skipper of Sweden’s Victory Challenge

Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team — World No. 5-ranked match-racer

Alvaro Marinho (POR) — Competing in second Gold Cup

Eric Monnin (SUI) Team Monnin — Placed 4th at 2006 Gold Cup

Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team — Placed 2nd at 2006 Gold Cup

David Tabb (GBR) — Competing in first Gold Cup

Chris Van Tol (USA) — Competing in first Gold Cup

Blythe Walker (BER) — Placed 3rd at 2006 Gold Cup

Peter Wibroe (DEN) — World No. 10-ranked match-racer

Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar — Reigning Gold Cup champion and World No. 1-ranked match racer


The 21 teams will be split into three groups of seven. The three groups sail a single round robin with the top two from each group advancing to the Quarterfinal Round. The third- and fourth-place skippers from each round robin advance to a Repechage Round consisting of a single round robin, with the top two advancing to the Quarterfinal Round. The winners of the quarterfinal matches advance to the Semifinal Round, and those winners advance to the Final. There are also consolation rounds for teams eliminated from the quarterfinals and semifinals. Matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final could be either the best-of-three or best-of-five race series.

The King Edward VII Gold Cup, Stage 13 of the World Match Racing Tour will be sailed in Hamilton, Bermuda from Oct. 9-14, 2007.The King Edward VII Gold Cup is the oldest match racing trophy in the world for competition involving one-design yachts. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the trophy. It was first presented at the Tri-Centenary Regatta at Jamestown, Va., in 1907 by King Edward VII in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of the first permanent settlement in America.

In 1956 the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club placed the Cup in competition for match racing in yachts of the International One-Design Class (IOD). Bert Darrell had the honor of being the first to defend the Cup in this class and won it a total of six times. New Zealander Russell Coutts became the event’s all-time winner when he surpassed Darrell in 2004 with his seventh championship.

Locally based global insurance companies Renaissance Re and Max Capital Group Ltd. are the Presenting Sponsors of the Gold Cup. The Bermuda Department of Tourism is the Host Sponsor. Primary sponsors include Ace Ltd., Bermuda Premium Spirits, Bermuda Telephone Co., Correia Construction and Oleander Cycles. Supporting Sponsors are Office Solutions, Izod, Wedgwood, ECL, The Bermuda IOD Class Association, The Fairmont Hamilton Princess and T2P Productions.

The World Match Racing Tour is the leading professional sailing series featuring 9 World Championship events across the globe

The World Tour is sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with 'Special Event' status

The World Tour awards over US$1million in prize money

Points are awarded at each event culminating in the crowning of the season ending ‘ISAF Match Racing World Champion’

Events utilize the same 'match race' format used in the America’s Cup with racing taking place identically supplied racing yachts which places a focuses on team work and skill

Racing takes place close to the shore for the general public to follow the races as virtual on-the-water stadiums

Media and television highlights coverage reaches over 500 million households in 190 countries around the world

World Match Racing Tour sponsors include Pindar, Travel Places, Wedgwood, Custom House and Sail.TV


2007 WORLD MATCH RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Stage 7: May 23-28, Match Race Germany, Langenargen, Germany

Stage 8: July 2-8, Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, Sweden

Stage 9: July 24-29, Portugal Match Cup, Troia, Portugal

Stage 10: August 8-12, Danish Open, Copenhagen, Denmark

Stage 11: August 14-19, St Moritz Match Race, St Moritz, Switzerland

Stage 12: September 11-16, Latium Match Cup, Rome, Italy

Stage 13: October 9-14, Bermuda Gold Cup, Hamilton, Bermuda

Stage 14: November 13-18, Brazil Sailing Cup, Vitoria, Brazil

Stage 15: Nov.28-Dec 2, Monsoon Cup, Terengganu, Malaysia



ISAF MATCH RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD

(After Stage 12 of 15)

1. Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar, 130 points

2. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 98

3. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza, 96

4. Sébastien Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 93

5. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 66

6. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Apport.net, 59

7. Jesper Bank (DEN) United Internet Team Germany, 53

8. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 52