Island nation to host World Cup of Sailing

Before the 2022 FIFA World Cup is held in Qatar, an event promoting itself as the World Cup of Sailing will be hosted by neighbor Bahrain on October 28 to November 20. The inaugural SSL GOLD CUP Finals is coming to the Persian Gulf.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, an island country in Western Asia, has been proactive to host international Sport events including F1 Bahrain Grand Prix since 2004, Asian Cycling Championships 2017, the Amateur MMA World Championship 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The new development Water Garden City, a massive mixed-use project that comprises a marina, beach, gardens, and marina promenade with waterfront fine dining restaurants, together with luxury duplexes, apartments, four hotels, and some offices, located in front of the iconic Manama City skyline, will host the event.

“The SSL Gold Cup 2022 provides a pivotal contribution to the long term objective of Bahrain’s vision for 2030 that His Highness Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, has developed to promote Bahrain Tourism and the destination as a prime worldwide International Sailing location,” said Sheikh Khalifa Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Maritime Sports Association.

“For over 30 years we have been working to promote sailing in Bahrain and the Arab World, so being host nation for the SSL Gold Cup 2022 is of great significance for Bahrain and sailing in Bahrain. It represents a major step in implementation of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Sport development plan.”

Fifty-six sailing nations, selected with a proprietary ranking system, have begun an elimination series in equally matched SSL47s (a modified RC44) with 11 sailors on a team. Ultimately, 40 teams will compete in the Finals, which includes the host nation team, the top 23 ranked nations, and the 16 teams that advanced from the Qualifying Series (for teams 25 to 56, from May to July 2022).

Amongst the top ranked teams will be Santiago Lange (Argentina), Tom Slingsby (Australia), Robert Scheidt and Martine Grael (Brazil), Anne- Richard Clarke (Canada), Marie Rindom (Denmark), Ian Williams and Sir Ben Ainslie (Great Britain), Xavier Rohart (France), Francesco Bruni (Italy), Taylor Canfield (United States), etc.

Event information – Team list – Race schedule

The 2022 SSL Gold Cup hosts the top 56 sailing nations, selected with a proprietary ranking system, to compete in equally matched SSL47s (a modified RC44) with 11 sailors on a team to determine the best sailing nation.

Starting on May 19, all teams ranked from Top 25 to 56 in the January 2022 SSL Nations ranking meet in 8 groups of 4 teams each. There will be 5 stages of Qualifying Series running from May 19 to July 17.

After 3 to 4 days of racing, only the top two teams of each group will go through to the Final Series that will take place from October 28 to November 20 to defend their national colors.

Ultimately, 40 teams will compete in the Finals, which includes the host nation team, the top 23 ranked nations, and the 16 teams that advanced from the Qualifying Series (for teams 25 to 56, from May to July 2022).