SSL Gold Cup Captains Presentation

(March 27, 2019) – The Star Sailors League (SSL) Gold Cup was announced last November as an innovative event on the international sailing scene that will crown the best sailing nation, just like the football World Cup crowns the best football country.

At the 2018 Yacht Racing Forum, SSL Gold Cup Sport Director Mateusz Kusznierewicz announced October 2021 as the date for the event, but in between the announcement and that date there is much happening in the lead up.

The Star Sailors League is contacting the nations to nominate, through a Selection Board, each nation’s captain. The captain is a sailor who will select the non-SSL ranked sailors, manage, and represent the team. The captain will also be an athlete who won’t necessarily be onboard with the team, but who will be key to the team and the Star Sailors League itself.

The selection process has been going since November and the Star Sailors League has announced the first 20 countries that are ready to take part in the SSL Gold Cup.

The official presentation of the first 20 captains will take place on April 15th at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sailors who will be part of their team will accompany some captains. Later in the year, additional captains and teams will be officially presented.

The presentation of the first 20 captains represents a big step for the Star Sailors League towards the first ever SSL Gold Cup in 2021.

The Star Sailors League Gold Cup is envisioned as a competition among countries that identifies and crowns the best sailing nation. Developed with the guidance of the world’s best sailors and the founders of the Star Sailors League, the SSL Gold Cup shines the spotlight on the heroes of sailing and arouses the sporting passions of national pride.

Raced in high performance SSL-47 monohull boats, all-national crews of nine will provide an action-filled spectacle in the mold of the football World Cup. With the goal of encouraging participation from all countries, including small and emerging sailing nations, the Star Sailors League will provide the boats at no charge to the national teams, for training and for the racing.

Established sailing nations will be limited to 10 training days per year. Countries in the World Sailing list of Emerging Nations may train up to 30 days per year. The SSL-47 race yachts, coach boats and the facilities of the SSL Training Center in Switzerland are available to all teams at no charge.

The 144 nations affiliated with World Sailing may be represented by one team, and all team members must be citizens of that country. To offer equal chances for all top sailors to participate, regardless of their financial resources, half of each team is selected based on the SSL Global Ranking. The other half of the team will be “Captain’s Selections.”

Like in the football World Cup, early qualification rounds select the teams that advance to the knockout rounds. All racing is with fleets of four boats in each race and four fleets in each of the early rounds, through the quarter finals. Teams will be seeded, with the eight top seeds guaranteed places in the quarter-finals.

Two fleets of four teams in the semi-finals to select the four teams that sail the single Grand Final race. The winner of the Grand Final race is crowned the Top Sailing Nation.

The first edition of the SSL Gold Cup will be held in Switzerland, September – October 2021.
• Opening Ceremony: Lausanne, Olympic Museum
• Qualifying Phase: Grandson, Lake Neuchâtel
• Final Phase: Geneva / Lausanne, Lake Geneva

The next step of the Star Sailors League Gold Cup is in about three week’s time, in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the captains of the first 20 teams entering the event will be officially presented.

Event Details: http://nations-gold-cup.starsailors.com

Source: Rachele Vitello, SSL Communications