Cash Competition for 100 Star Teams

Hamburg, Germany (May 2, 2016) – The first Star Sailors League City Grand Slam gets underway tomorrow when 100 Star teams, representing 20 countries, begin racing on Lake Alster daily to May 7th.

Among the teams are current Star World Champions Augie Diaz with crew Bruno Prada (two Olympic medals with Robert Scheidt), Torben Grael – the most decorated Brazilian Sailor of all time – with crew Stefano Lilia from the renowned Star boat shipyard, Polish Finn gold medalist Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Olympic bronze and SSL President Xavier Rohart racing with longtime crew Pierre-Alexis Ponsot.

On the racecourse the main language of the competitors will undoubtedly be German as they represent the majority of the fleet with 50 teams. Top Star sailors did not miss the opportunity to race on their home water: local heroes Johannes Polgar and Markus Koy, Bacardi Cup holders Robert Stanjek and Frithjof Kleen and ‘Doctor’ Hubert Merkelbach will be the boats to watch.

The Prize Purse for the SSL City Grand Slam is CHF 100,000 (104,730.47 USD) shared between the top twenty teams. Races are scheduled to start each day at 9 AM, from Tuesday to Saturday (May 3-7). The regatta will consist of a Qualifying Series and a Final Series. The Qualifying Series will have a first and a second round. In the first round races will be sailed in groups decided by the organizing authority and a combined results list will be produced.

The top ranked 30 teams of the first round qualify for the second round, and the winning team in the first round will be awarded the “Heinz Nixdorf Trophy”.

In the second round all 30 teams will sail in one fleet, with a maximum of 5 races. The top 10 teams will go ahead to sail the Final Series, the first qualified team will go straight to the Final, and the second will have a bye to Semi-final. In the Quarter-final only 5 teams out of 7 will gain access to the Semi-final and only 3 teams out of 6 will join the second round winner to the Final (see diagram below).

The first team to cross the line during the Final will be the first SSL City Grand Slam winner and also awarded with the 50th Erich F. Laeisz-Prize.

A very rich social schedule awaits the participants with “Four Private Parties” hosted by local star sailors on Wednesday, BBQ at NRV on Thursday, Gala Dinner at Hotel Atlantic Kempinski overseeing lake Alster on Friday and the Prize Giving Ceremony at the International Maritime Museum on Saturday.

Full coverage of all five days of action will be streamed live on the Internet for FREE, with expert commentary from special studio guests, including Dennis Conner. On the water, the latest in hi-tech camera technology, as well as Virtual Eye 3D Graphics, will provide thrilling viewing. Armchair sailors can also race the course with Virtual Regatta.

Scoreboard – Entry list – Watch live – Full schedule

Day One: