Team Race World Championship returns with new format and teams
by New York Yacht Club 2 May 23:38 AEST
May 28 - June 1, 2025
Team Race World Championship © Stuart Wemple / NYYC
The past decade for team racing has featured the emergence of a new, spectator-friendly format and the continued spread of the discipline around the globe.
What it hasn't seen, however, is an official world championship. That drought will end in a month's time when the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I., hosts the 2025 Team Racing World Championship, scheduled for May 28 to June 1.
"We are very happy to be the first Argentinian team to be part of this kind of format," says Inés Balestrini, team captain for Team Argentina. "It's going to be a great chance to interact with teams from different parts of the world in one of the best venues in the world."
From 1995 through 2015, the Team Racing World Championship was contested 10 times. The format was three-on-three and sailed in dinghies that favored light two-person crews. The United States won six times, with Great Britain and New Zealand each winning twice. The reincarnation of the event will be sailed in 23-foot Sonar keelboats and utilize a two-on-two format, which has proven easier to understand for spectators—the team of last boat to cross the finish line loses the race. Starting May 28, 12 teams of eight sailors from 10 different countries will converge on Newport for four days of sailing and socializing. While team racing is intensely competitive—even combative—on the water, it's one of the most convivial of sailing disciplines off the water.
See the full entry list here.
"Keelboat team racing has been a point of emphasis for the New York Yacht Club for more than a quarter of a century," says Susan Daly, event co-chair for the world championship. "Hosting this first edition of the reborn world championship is a great tribute to all the hard work put in by the membership over the past three decades."
The presence of a team from Argentina, as well as from Greece, the Bahamas and Sweden, is a sign of the growing popularity of team racing. Whether these teams can make up for lost time when it comes to competing with the traditional powers in the sport—the United States, Great Britain and New Zealand—remains to be seen. But lack of enthusiasm won't be a concern.
"Our level of anticipation is incredibly high," says Lukas Bergman of Sweden's Gamla Stans Yacht Sällskap. "Team racing is intense, fun, challenging, quirky and, compared to fleet racing, quite backwards. It's not about being first, but instead about not being last. We have sailed for a few seasons, some of us did team racing in the Optimist dinghies. Compared to the U.S. or U.K. circuit, team racing in Sweden is in its cradle, however. In terms of experience, our ambition is to gain some."
Confidence is a little more robust with the team from South America, though there are still quite a few unknowns for the team to overcome.
"We have an amazing team, expectations will always be super high," says Pepe Bettini, a professional sailing coach and skipper for Team Argentina. "We need to get there, get used to the boats—we don't have Sonars in Argentina—and later understand where we are at and how to set our goals. We know it will be a successful event no matter what, but we can't set a goal yet. One way or the other, bet on us, as we won't disappoint."
The same can be said for the event. Light, moderate or heavy air, team racing always delivers a full day of excitement. Racing for the 2025 Team Racing World Championship is set to take place on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay between Rose Island and Goat Island from Thursday, May 29, through Sunday, June 1. Racing will start each day, weather depending, around 10 am, and run through the afternoon.