Preparations Underway for Second SAILING Champions League

For the second time in sailing history, the SAILING Champions League is taking place, with this year’s event being hosted at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo in Sardinia from 18th to 20th September 2015. The organisers are expecting 32 clubs from over 12 nations to participate in the prestigious, transnational club competition, ready to challenge the defending champion, the Royal Danish Yacht Club from Copenhagen, and claim the trophy.

Only one year after the inaugural event of the SAILING Champions League, this year’s event in Porto Cervo at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda brings a showdown of the best sailing clubs of the national sailing leagues. The club competition with a standard format featuring short races lasting not more than 15 minutes on one-design boats very close to the shoreline was an important development for the sport of sailing. The 2014 event was so successful that 13 European countries and the USA were so excited about the format that they created their own sailing leagues in 2015.

Clubs from more than twelve nations will be flying to Italy in mid-September to challenge the defending champion from Copenhagen, the Royal Danish Yacht Club, in the fight for the sought-after trophy from Robbe & Berking. Technology partner SAP will be providing the live broadcasting from Friday to and Sunday. YCCS partners Audi and Rolex will be supporting the event while Quantum Sails is technical partner of the event.

During the SAILING Champions League regatta the first official meeting of the representatives of all national sailing leagues will take place to address future strategic orientation, cooperation between national sailing leagues and Steering Committee members.

The 32 teams expected to attend in Porto Cervo will be representing not only their clubs but also their countries. As one of the leading yacht clubs in the world, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda on the North-east coast of Sardinia offers the Champions League sailors a unique atmosphere for the event. The SAILING Champions League will be sailed on a fleet of new J/70 boats.

Further information on the live broadcasting, the participating clubs and the sailors competing in Porto Cervo will follow in future updates.

Provisional entry list (28 clubs):
– Aarhus Sejlklub, Aarhus, Wild Card – 4th Danish Sailing League 2015
– Åländska Segelsällskapet, Mariehamn, 1st Finnish Sailing League 2015
– Burgenländischer Yacht-Club, Rust, 2nd Austrian Sailing League 2015
– Club Canottieri Roggero di Lauria, Palermo, 1st Italian Sailing League 2015
– Deutscher Touring Yacht-Club, Tutzing, 2nd German Sailing League 2014
– Ekolns Segelklubb, Uppsala, 2nd Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Göteborgs Kungliga Segel Sällskap, Gothenburg, Wild Card 5th Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Hellerup Sejlklub, Hellerup/Copenhagen, 2nd Danish Sailing League 2015
– Jacht Klub Wielkopolski Poznań, Poznań, Wild Card – 3rd Polish Sailing League 2015
– Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub, Copenhagen, Wild Card – Champion 2014
– Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, Oslo, Norwegian Sailing League
– Kungliga Svenska Segelsällskapet, Saltsjöbaden/Stockholm, 1st Swedish Sailing League 2015
– Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, Hamburg, 1st German Sailing League 2014
– PIRogovo Yacht Club, Moscow, 1st Act 1 Russian Sailing League 2015
– Regattaclub Oberhofen, Oberhofen/Thun, 1st Swiss Sailing League 2015
– Royal Malta Yacht Club, Valletta, Wild Card
– Royal Thames Yacht Club, London, UK Sailing League
– Skovshoved Sejlklub, Skovshoved, 1st Danish Sailing League 2015
– Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Trieste, 2nd Italian Sailing League 2015
– Société Nautique de Genève, Geneve, 2nd Swiss Sailing League 2015
– Stavanger Seilforening, Stavanger, Norwegian Sailing League
– Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee, Berlin, 3rd German Sailing League 2014
– WaterSportVereniging Almere Haven, Almere/Amsterdam, Dutch Sailing League
– Yacht Club Bregenz, Bregenz, 1st Austrian Sailing League 2015
– Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Wild Card – Hosting Club
– Yacht Club Navigator, Moscow, 1st Act 2 Russian Sailing League 2015
– Yacht Club Sopot, Sopot, 1st Polish Sailing League 2015
– Yacht Klub Polski Szczecin, Szczecin, 2nd Polish Sailing League 2015