2016 US Grand Slam Series Event Announcement

(March 28, 2016) – Four Grade 2 regattas will be hosted on consecutive weekends this August starting in Long Island, New York and ending in Detroit, Michigan. This year, more than ever before, is a great opportunity for young skippers and new teams to earn valuable ranking points that may be left on the table by the top-ranked teams who have shifted their focus to the World Match Racing Tour’s M32 catamarans.

Nonetheless the Grand Slam continues to be a great proving ground and stepping-stone to the WMRT. The overall series winner will earn an invitation to the 2017 Congressional Cup, which is currently a WMRT event. Furthermore, because all but one event will be sailed in teams of three or four* total crew, this year will be more affordable to compete than ever before.

The Grand Slam Series will kick-off on the Long Island Sound at the Knickerbocker Cup, hosted by Manhasset Bay Yacht Club in Sonar’s. Then the following week, Oakcliff Sailing will welcome teams to compete in the Match 40’s, where they have raised the stakes with an event prize purse of $10,000. The teams will meet again the following weekend in the Windy City for the Chicago Grand Slam.

This year’s Chicago Grand Slam will be co-hosted by Chicago Match Race Center and Chicago Yacht Club in CYC’s fleet of Sonar’s. Finally the US Grand Slam Series Champion will be crowned at the Detroit Cup in Bayview Yacht Club’s fleet of Ultimate 20’s.

2016 Schedule
Knickerbocker Cup – August 4-7
Oakcliff International – August 11-14
Chicago Grand Slam – August 19-21
Detroit Cup – August 25-28

*The crew size for all events except Oakcliff International is 3 or 4 people at a maximum weight of 262.5 kg. For Oakcliff International, teams can sail with 5 or 6 people at a maximum weight of 437.5 kg.

For more information visit www.usamatchracing.com and the Notice of Series can be found here.

PREVIOUS GRAND SLAM WINNERS
2011 – Laurie Jury, NZL
2012 – Taylor Canfield, ISV
2013 – Nicolai Sehested, DEN
2014 – Pierre Antoine Morvan, FRA
2015 – Sam Gilmour, AUS

Report by Event Media

US GRAND SLAM EVENT CONTACT INFO
www.usamatchracing.com
Knickerbocker Cup – KCup@manhassetbayyc.com
Oakcliff International – bsimon@oakcliffsailing.org
Chicago Grand Slam – info@chicagomatchrace.com
Detroit Cup – thedetroitcup@byc.com