Qualifying complete at ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship

Helsinki, Finland (July 25, 2014) – The ISAF Youth Match Racing World Championship completed the remaining 10 flights in the Qualifying Round Robin, advancing the top 8 teams to the Quarter Finals.

At the start of the day it was still unclear who would qualify for the quarterfinals as the battle for 6th to 8th position remained fiery. Nelson Mettraux (SVI), Tyler Rice (ISV), Markus Rönnberg (FIN) and Philip Bendon (IRL) were battling to continue in the regatta and qualify in the top eight, Rönnberg was now pulling in straight wins after few losses in the first two days.

The wind filled up 10:20, and the postponement was lowered. In flight 28 Vladislav Abramov (RUS) opened his score with a win. Before flight 32 Rönnberg (FIN) was sitting with five losses and he needed to pull in two victories against Mark Lees (GBR) and Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) to get a place in the quarterfinals. In a tight match Lees beat him, and as Rice had won against him earlier, Rönnberg was out of the quarters.

However in the last two flights the teams started to show their skills battling for the top ranks in the round robin, the skill level of the matches was high for the youth sailors and promises world-class action for the remaining two days.

Aschenbrenner commented, “We did well today winning four out of four matches. That was enough to win the round robin. The conditions are light, some puffs and shifts, but they are not unpredictable making the racing fair.”

Sam Gilmour (AUS) won 3 and lost 1 and was pretty happy, “We aim to be consistent and improve throughout the regatta. The light wind makes the starboard entry more important in the pre-start, and the pre-start can make or break your race.”

The Quarter Finals are on Saturday, with the Semi-Finals and Finals scheduled on Sunday, July 27.

Fifteen teams are competing in the inaugural event, open to competitors under 23 years old this year, being held in the J/80.

Qualifying Round Robin – Standings after Day Three
Joachim Aschenbrenner, DEN 12-2
Sam Gilmour, AUS 11-3
Nevin Snow, USA 10-4
Mark Lees, GBR 10-4
Pierre Quiroga, FRA 10-4
Chris Steele, NZL 10-4
Valerio Galati, ITA 9-5
Tyler Rice, ISV 8-6
———————————-
Markus Ronnberg, FIN 7-7
Nelson Mettraux, SUI 6-8
Philip Bendon, IRL 5-9
Jakob Klitte, SWE 3-11
Florian Haufe, GER 2-12
Slawomir Plichta, POL 1-13
Vladislav Abramov, RUS 1-13

Results – ISAF Microsite – Event Website

Report by ISAF media.