Halifax cuts services, funds SailGP

It was 2024 when SailGP global league held its first Canadian event in Halifax, but after not including the nation in 2025, the fleet returns June 20-21. However, as the province is enduring significant budget cuts to services, the government’s SailGP funding is being questioned.

Financial support includes $2 million in public money, with one million dollars each from the province and the municipality.

“The 2024 Canada Sail Grand Prix attracted more than 50,000 spectators to Halifax and generated millions in economic activity. We look forward to welcoming SailGP back to Nova Scotia later this year,” explained Meredith Hand, a spokesperson for the provincial Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.

A story in the Halifax Examiner observed how the positive impact in 2024 will be dwarfed by the negative impact of how thousands of job losses and budget cuts caused by the rest of the Houston government’s austerity budget, and that in all the  documents reviewed by the publication, nowhere is that negative impact measured or referred to. – Full report

SailGP information – Rio details – How to watch

Season 6 Results (after 3 of 13 events)
1. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2
2. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5
3. United States, Taylor Canfield (USA), 5-7-1
4. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4-13*
5. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3
6. Artemis, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9
7. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4
8. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6
9. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8
10. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11
11. Brazil, Martine Grael (BRA), 10-11-7
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12
13. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10
* Received compensation points for Sydney due to boat damage in Event 2.

Season 6 – 2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12  – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sept 5-6 – Valencia, Spain
• Sept 19-20 – Geneva, Switzerland
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Note: The 11th event was moved to Geneva from Saint-Tropez, France.

Season 6 format:
• Thirteen teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event is two days.
• All teams compete in up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race for the event title.
• The season ends with the Grand Final event which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing.
• All teams are privately owned except for New Zealand and Spain which are owned by the league.

Season 6 prize money:
A total of USD $12.8 million is up for grabs in 2026. The winner of each of the 13 events takes home $400,000, with $260,000 for second and $140,000 for third. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins $400,000, while the team that wins the Championship Final Race wins USD $2 million.

F50 Configuration:
All teams use same configuration based on weather forecast. There are four wingsail sizes (18m, 24m, 27.5m, and 29m), six jib sizes, two T-foil daggerboards (high-speed and low-speed), and one set of rudders with high-speed and low-speed settings.

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.