Harry Price wins Youth Match Racing Worlds

Corona del Mar, CA (August 5, 2017) – In a close-fought final, Harry Price (AUS) and Ettore Botticini (ITA) traded jabs throughout the best-of-five-race series, with Price coming from behind to win the Youth Match Racing World Championship.

With excellent pre-starts and classic match race tactics, Botticini went up 2-1. After Price evened the score 2-2, Botticini made an unforced error at the start of the fifth and final race that ultimately cost them the championship.

During the pre-start, the two teams jockeyed for position aggressively, reaching the starting line early. At the starting signal both teams were clearly over the starting line early, and were signaled by the race committee to return to restart. Each dipped back across the starting line, but Botticini turned up the course before getting his boat completely back to the pre-start side of the line, requiring a second return. In the meantime, Price cleared himself and was up the course with a five boat-length lead that he never relinquished.

Price, as the #6 ranked match racer in the world (of any age), was the pre-regatta favorite, and his team won the qualifying phase – losing only two matches of the 22 in the double round robin held August 1-3. But one of those losses was to Botticini late in Round Robin 2, setting up the tense final.

Price had won his semifinal over the USA’s Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, FL) 3-0, while Botticini took four matches to dispatch George Anyon of New Zealand 3-1.

In the best-of-three petit final (consolation series between the other semifinalists), Anyon defeated Hobbs 2-1 to finish third overall.

Event details: www.sailing.org/regattainfo.php?rgtaid=19840

Background: In its fourth year, the Youth Match Racing Worlds has provided a pathway for the best young match racers to test themselves against the best in their age group (under 23 years old in 2017). Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) claimed the inaugural title in 2014, followed by Sam Gilmour (AUS) in 2015 and Will Dargaville (AUS) in 2016.

Racing in custom Governor’s Cup 22s on August 1 to 5, the 12 teams representing 9 countries will sail a double round robin qualifying stage to determine the top four teams to advance to semi-finals with the top two advancing to the final to crown a 2017 World Champion.

Competitor List
Australia – Harry Price, Angus Williams, Tara Blanc‐Ramos
Australia – Clare Costanzo, Jessica Angus, Emma May, Hannah Lanz
Denmark – Felix Jacobsen, Sebastian Pieters, August la Cour
France – Cyril Fortin, Jeremy Picot, Kim Goetz
Great Britain – Matt Whitfield, Sophie Heritage, Ellie Meopham
Italy – Ettore Botticini, Simone Busonero, Arianna Botticini, Lorenzo Gennari
New Zealand – George Anyon, Matthew Hughes, Taylor Balogh
New Zealand – Josh Wijohn, Tim Snedden, Nick Egnot Johnson
Switzerland – Mathieu Cadei, Romain Defferrard, Matthieu Ravussin
Sweden – Johanna Berqvist, Isabelle Bergqvist, Ellinor Hansson, Fanny Edgren
USA – Grenier Hobbs, Noah Barrengos, Colton Carnevale
USA – Charlie Welsh, John Horton, Robert Garrett