Bermuda Gold Cup moves to October

Hamilton, Bermuda (May 15, 2020) – Following the need to postpone Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’s Bermuda Gold Cup match racing regatta from May 11-16 due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 and travel restrictions, the 70th edition has been rescheduled to October 25-30.

As Bermuda begins Phase 1 of its reopening protocol, the outlook for International One-Design (IOD) sloops battling bow-to-bow can in this World Championship event of the World Match Racing Tour now has promise.

“The Gold Cup has a history of surviving through hurricanes, but this is probably the most fluid and uncertain situation we’ve ever had to contend with,” said Leatrice Oatley, the regatta chairperson and a Past Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club.

“The coronavirus is unlike anything the world has ever seen and its effects are startling. We’re planning to hold the 70th Gold Cup in October, but there are a number of obstacles still to overcome. We certainly hope they’ll all be met and we’ll enjoy close racing come October.”

The Bermuda government has outlined four phases for reopening the country, each lasting approximately two weeks. The current Phase 1 allows for limited business. Phase 2 provides for an expansion of services, Phase 3 a move towards normalcy and Phase 4 normalcy. The final phase is the most important as it allows for the reopening of Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport.

“Given the time frame of each phase, we probably won’t know what travel will look like until late June,” Oatley said. “So, although we’re still in a holding pattern, we are eager to welcome all to our beautiful Bermuda blue halo for the 70th Gold Cup in October.”

Tour information – Event details – Facebook

Entry list before postponement:
• Bermuda National Match Racing Champion (to be determined)
• Johnie Berntsson (49, Stenungsund, Sweden) – World No. 7 Open Match Race Rankings,
• Taylor Canfield (31, Miami, USA) – World No. 31 Open Match Race Rankings, 7th , two-time winner (2018, ’12)
• Pauline Courtois (30, Brest, France) – World No. 1 Women’s Match Race Rankings, 2nd King Edward VII Gold Cup
• Nicklas Dackhammar (30, Gothenburg, Sweden) – World No. 15 Open Match Race Rankings, 4th , 6th place 2018
• Nick Egnot-Johnson (21, Auckland, New Zealand) – World No. 2 Open Match Race Rankings, first New Zealand Match Racing Championship, Nespresso Youth Match Racing Championship and Match Race Germany
• Lance Fraser (26, Toronto, Canada) – World No. 38 Open Match Race Rankings, 6th
• Tom Grimes (21, Belmont, New South Wales, Australia) – World No. 18 Open Match Race Rankings, reigning Youth Match Racing World Champion, 1st King Edward VII Gold Cup
• Maxime Mesnil (30, Le Havre, France) – World No. 4 Open Match Race Rankings, 2nd King Edward VII Gold Cup
• Torvar Mirsky (33, Sydney, Australia) – World No. 27 Open Match Race Rankings, 5th King Edward VII Gold Cup, 5th place in 2019
• Eric Monnin (44, Immensee, Switzerland) – World No. 1 Open Match Race Rankings, 13th , 8th place in 2019
• Anna Östling (35, Lerum, Sweden) – World No. 2 Women’s Match Race Rankings, World No. 36 Open Match Race Rankings, first King Edward VII Gold Cup, two-time Women’s Match Racing World champion
• Harry Price (24, Sydney, Australia) – World No. 5 Open Match Race Rankings, 2nd , 3rd place in 2019,
• Jelmer van Beek (25, The Hague, Netherlands) – World No. 11 Open Match Race Rankings, 1st King Edward VII Gold Cup
• Ian Williams (42, Lymington, England) – World No. 3 Open Match Race Rankings, 12th King Edward VII Gold Cup, two-time champion (2019, ’06), six-time Match Racing Worlds champion
• Patryk Zbroja (42, Szczecin, Poland) – World No. 9 Open Match Race Rankings, 1st King Edward VII Gold Cup, 2018 Polish Open Match Racing Champion

(Rankings based on Jan. 8, 2020 World Sailing Rankings – Match Racing)

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The World Tour represents a series of independently organized and officially sanctioned match racing events. Teams accumulate points from each of the events towards an overall WMRT global ranking, the top twelve teams from which compete in the WMRT Championship Finals at the end of the season.

2020 World Match Racing Tour Schedule
(Cancellation or postponement of 2020 event due to COVID-19 pandemic)

1. May 14-17 – Slovenia Match Race Cup, Portorož, Slovenija (CANCELLED)
2. May 22-24 – NJK Open Spring Cup, Finland (CANCELLED)
3. June 18-21 – Świnoujście Match Race – Polish Match Tour, Poland
4. July 1-5 – GKSS Match Cup Sweden*
5. July 23-26 – Internationaux de France de Match Racing, France
6. July 29-August 1 – Baltic Match Race, Estonia
7. Aug 8-11 – AIRCALIN Match Race, Noumea, New Caledonia
8. Aug 14-16 – Chicago Grand Slam, Chicago, USA
9. Aug 19-23 – International Match Race for the Detroit Cup, USA
10. Aug 27-31 – Oakcliff International, Oyster Bay, USA
11. Sept 2-5 – Thompson Cup, Oyster Bay, USA
12. Sept 9-13 – Match Race Germany, Langenargen, Germany (originally May 27-June 1)
13. Sept 17-20 – DBS Marina Bay Cup, Singapore
14. Sept 18-20 – Porto Montenegro Match Race, Montenegro (previously on May 18-20)
15. October 8-11 – Ficker Cup, Long Beach CA, USA (previously on April 24-26)
16. October 13-18 – Congressional Cup, Long Beach, CA, USA* (previously on April 29–May 3 )
17. October 25-30 – Argo Gold Cup, Bermuda* (previously on May 11-16)
18. Nov/Dec (TBA) – WMRT FINAL, Hong Kong

* WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Event

The WMRT takes place in identically supplied racing yachts which change for each event and has been awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body – World Sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.

Previous Champions include Bertrand Pace (FRA), Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Jesper Radich (DEN), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Taylor Canfield (ISV), Phil Robertson (NZL), and Torvar Mirsky (AUS).

Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD23million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors. www.wmrt.com

Source: Royal Bermuda Yacht Club