Chicago Match Race Center to host Canada's Cup

by Dobbs Davis on 7 Sep 2010 After a hiatus of three years, an agreement has been reached enabling the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC), a yacht club established in 2009 and operating out of North Belmont Harbor in Chicago, to host a 2010 edition of the Great Lakes’ oldest and most prestigious match race trophy, the Canada’s Cup. Three days of racing will be held over 15-17 October 2010 between two teams racing Farr 40 class yachts, Don Wilson’s Convexity representing CMRC and Grant Wood’s Vincere representing Port Credit YC in Mississauga, Ontario.

'It is an honor for us to host this prestigious trophy,' said Beth Paul, CMRC Director of Marketing and Programming, 'And we’re glad to have found an agreement that satisfies the concerns of all parties involved.'
The Canada’s Cup, a renowned nation-to-nation challenge Cup between the US and Canada, has been symbolic of racing supremacy on the Great Lakes for many years, beginning in 1896. The last competition for the Canada’s Cup was in October 2007 also in Farr 40’s, but held in Toronto where the Macatawa Bay YC of Holland, MI, represented by Bob Hughes on Heartbreaker, defeated Honour representing the Royal Canadian YC (RCYC).
RCYC, the custodian of the Canada’s Cup, reports that the Macatawa Bay YC may, if approved by RCYC, be hosting the next Canada’s Cup events in 2011.

'The time line is fast, but we’re certainly excited to have this opportunity to compete for the Canada’s Cup,' said Wilson. 'Hopefully we can put to the test what we’ve learned this summer at all our other CMRC events and successfully defend the Cup for the US.'

Principal Race Officer for the Canada's Cup will be Bill Canfield (ISV), and Umpires will be David Pelling (CAN), Steve Van Dyck (USA) and Andrew Alberti (CAN). Chief Measurer will be Andrew Williams (GBR).
More information will be available soon on details of schedule, racing format and rules, team profiles, shore-side activities, etc., but all events will be held from the CMRC’s headquarters at the north end of Belmont Harbor in Chicago’s Lakefront district.

Official Partners of the CMRC include CME Group and NYSE LIFFE, the City Inns family of hotels, and Line Honors is the Official Clothing Supplier to CMRC.