Boost for late fan-owned SailGP Team

The effort launched in November 2022 to expand the SailGP field with a fan-owned team for Season 4 has yet to acquire sufficient funding, but the initiative got a splashy boost when two-time All-Star NBA player Baron Davis became the first professional athlete participant and investor in the team.

“Investing in culture and having a stake in ownership alongside fans is the strongest way to engage a community,” said Davis, a 13-year NBA veteran who is a recognized entrepreneur exploring the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology.

“As a former professional athlete, it’s empowering to see ownership handed over to the fans. It’s an exciting next chapter for the future of sports, and I plan on being active in the ownership community to get the first-ever fan owned SailGP team on the water and racing.”

Initially requiring 2000 people to invest $2000 US, the revised plan in February 2023 was for a total of 1,950 accredited investors to purchase between one and 40 equity tokens for $5,000 each, up to $200,000 US. It was not revealed how much Davis invested.

With Season 4 underway after two of 12 events for ten teams, the fan-owned SailGP Team aims to be the 11th team in the global sail racing league, with its hopeful debut now postponed until Season 5 (2024) to represent the Bermuda and Caribbean regions.

SailGP information – YouTube – How to watch

Season Standings (after two of 12 events; results and total points)
1. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 2-3; 17 points
2. Spain (Diego Botin), 5-1; 16
3. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 4-2; 16
4. Canada (Phil Robertson), 3-4; 15
5. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 1-7; 14
6. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie), 7-6; 9
7. United States (Jimmy Spithill), 9-5; 8
8. France (Quintin Delapierre), 6-8; 8
9. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter), 8-9; 5
10. Germany (Erik Heil), 10-10; 0

Season 4 – 2023
June 16-17 – Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Los Angeles
September 9-10 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 23-24 – Italy Sail Grand Prix | Taranto
October 14-15 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía- Cádiz

Season 4 – 2024
January 13-14 – UAE Sail Grand Prix | Venue to be announced
February 24-25 – KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 – ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
May 4-5 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 – Canada Sail Grand Prix | Venue to be announced
June 22-23 – United States Sail Grand Prix | New York
July 13-14 – SailGP Season 4 Grand Final | San Francisco

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300.000.00 USD event prize money purse that’s divided among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming the $1m USD prize.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.