SailGP coming to Halifax in June

The release of the SailGP Season 4 schedule in April 2023 revealed there would be the first ever Canadian event, but left us guessing as to where. Five months later, Halifax has won the bid to host racing on Halifax Harbor, between George’s Island and the MacDonald Bridge.

The first ever ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix is hosted by Sail Nova Scotia who led Halifax’s successful bid, as part of a process which secured interest from four other Canadian cities to host SailGP. The technical site for the ten high-performance teams will be located at King’s Wharf in Dartmouth, providing immediate access to the race course from ‘pit row’ for the athletes and shore crew.

“The venue is set up well for our stadium racing, allowing the fans to get a very close view of the action,” said SailGP CEO Russell Coutts. ” I can’t think of a better stop for our first Canadian Sail Grand Prix and can’t wait to see the F50s racing on Halifax Harbor.”

ROCKWOOL, which sponsors the Danish team and was title sponsor for the Italian event on September 23-24, adds the Canadian event to its portfolio. As the world leader in stone wool solutions, they view North America as an important market for its continued growth. “We look forward to delivering a successful first edition together with the local stakeholders and SailGP,” said Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs, Mirella Vitale.

The team at Sail Nova Scotia has worked for more than a year to secure this event. “We are thrilled that it will be a reality in June 2024,” said Sail Nova Scotia President Eric Hill said. “It was made possible through the support of our partners Province of Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Build Nova Scotia, Discover Halifax, and the Port of Halifax. We can’t wait to see the most exciting racing in our harbor and know it will inspire the sailors and non-sailors of today and tomorrow.”

SailGP information – YouTube – How to watch

Season Standings (after four of 12 events; results and total points)
1. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 2-3-2-2; 35points
2. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie), 7-6-1-1; 29
3. Spain (Diego Botin), 5-1-3-6; 29
4. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 4-2-4-7; 27
5. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 1-7-8-DNC/6; 23
6. United States (Jimmy Spithill), 9-5-5-3; 22
7. France (Quintin Delapierre), 6-8-6-4; 20
8. Canada (Phil Robertson), 3-4-10-5; 18
9. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter), 8-9-9-9; 10
10. Germany (Erik Heil), 10-10-7-8; 6
Notes:
• Canada SailGP Team: Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
• Germany SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Oracle Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix
• New Zealand SailGP Team: Granted six event points for Italy Sail Grand Prix as unable to compete due to wing damage suffered at France Sail Grand Prix.

Season 4 – 2023
June 16-17 – 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 – Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix | Abu Dhabi
February 24-25 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 23-24 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Auckland
May 4-5 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix
June 1-2 – Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax
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.

Source: SailGP