ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final preview

by International Sailing Federation on 8 Sep 2011 ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, hosted by Sail Sheboygan, one of four US Sailing Centers is to be held at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, USA from 13 to 18 September 2011.

The competition will see some of the finest sailors from across the globe mixing it up along the Lake Michigan shore in identical one-design class sailboats for this culmination of a series of eight match racing regattas that started in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on 24 March.

The ISAF Nations Cup is a global competition to find the world's top match racing nation in open and women's events, while also promoting and developing the sport of match racing in sailing, which pits one boat against another. Gaining popularity, women's match racing will make its debut as an Olympic Sailing event for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The 2011 Nations Cup included seven regional finals, from which the top teams will compete in Sheboygan. The Grand Final will be sailed in the Sonar class for the open event and the Elliott 6m for the women's event.

Ten teams will compete in the women's event, and ten entries have been confirmed in the open event. In the women's event, two-time defending champion and number one ISAF ranked women's match racing skipper and number four in the world, Claire Leroy (FRA) and her crew will go up against the American team led by Genny Tulloch, ranked number 11, and Olympic medallist Mandy Mulder of the Netherlands, ranked number 17. Further competition is expected from the Brazilian team led by Nations Cup veteran Juliana Senfft.

The open event will see American Shawn Bennett and his crew of Dave Perry and Craig Healy take on the Danish team led by Mads Ebler, ranked number eight in the ISAF open match racing division rankings, and New Zealand match racing winner Laurie Jury and his team. Racing for Poland will be three-time Polish match racing champion Przemek Tarnacki. Teams representing Australia, South Africa, France, China, Pakistan, Greece, Turkey and Canada will also be sailing for the cup.

Antonio González De Le Madrid, ISAF Competitions Manager, said, 'We are delighted that some of the world's best match racers will be making the trip to Sheboygan for the ISAF Nations Cup. There are some very experienced sailors lining up alongside those who are in the early stages of their development. Nonetheless it should make for a fantastic few days of match racing action.'

According to Sail Sheboygan's, Executive Director, Rich Reichelsdorfer, said, 'Sail Sheboygan is excited and honored to be hosting the Grand Final of the Nations Cup. We have assembled a top-class race management team backed up by a dedicated corps of volunteers for this premiere match-racing event and we can't wait to show the world our facility. With dozens of the best match-racing sailors in the world coming to Sheboygan, the Nations Cup will be a spectacle to be enjoyed both by sailors and spectators alike. The racing is sure to be fast and furious and the onshore activities will be equally fun.'

Competitor List
Open Division
Wild Card - Mads Ebler (DEN)
Oceania - Laurie Jury (NZL)
Europe II - Przemek Tarnacki (POL)
South America - Henrique Haddad (BRA)
Europe I - Stratis Andreadis (GRE)
Host - Shawn Bennett (USA)
North America - Peter Wickwire (CAN)
Wild Card - Yasar Celal Tumsen (TUR)
Asia - Rauf Zahid (PAK)
Wild Card - Lucy Macgregor (GBR)

Women's
Defender - Claire Leroy (FRA)
Host - Genevieve Tulloch (USA)
South America - Juliana Senfft (BRA)
Europe II - Mandy Mulder (DEN)
Wild Card - Rita Goncalves (POR)
Oceania - Olivia Price (AUS)
Europe I - Katarzyna Pie (POL)
Asia - Ru Wang - (CHN)
Africa - Dominique Provoyeur (RSA)
North America - Sharon Ferris-Choat (CAN)

Event Sponsors Include: Blue Harbor Resort, Plenco, HSA Bank, Festival Foods, GrandStay Residential Suites, Harken, North Sails, Edgewater Boats, Southern Spars, Bemis Mfg. Co., Harbor Centre Marina, Vollrath Co., SAILING Magazine, Coca-Cola, Vinyl Graphics, Johnsonville Sausage, Sheboygan Tourism and Wisconsin Department of ISAF Nations Cup website