Finalists set for SailGP youth champs

The top young male and female sailing athletes from around the world will converge on San Francisco Bay to compete for the ultimate prize at the WASZP Grand Final – Championship of Champions in San Francisco, CA.

Taking place alongside the Mubadala SailGP Season 3 Grand Final on May 5-6, the WASZP Grand Final is the culmination of SailGP’s Inspire Racing x WASZP series and offers the finalists – eight females and nine males – an opportunity to compete at the highest level.

Throughout SailGP Season 3, young sailors were selected through their governing bodies, WASZP Class association, and SailGP Inspire racing events to ensure the highest level of diverse talent and a 50:50 gender balance, with the winners (top male and top female) from each qualifying event progressing to the Inspire WASZP Grand Final.

Achieving a podium finish will provide a major springboard to the aspiring young athletes, as the winners will receive an incredible money-can’t-buy immersive experience of joining one of the SailGP Teams in Season 4 and the opportunity to ride on an F50.

The Inspire Racing x WASZP program provides a stepping stone for under 21s to develop foiling skills and create a pathway to SailGP’s F50 catamarans.

It has a strong focus on inclusivity – aiming to diversify sailing through its programs to foster talent and eliminate gender, racial, and socioeconomic barriers.

Heading into just the second Inspire WASZP Grand Final, the program has already reaped rewards for its inaugural winners.

SailGP Season 2 Female Inspire Champion Hattie Rogers (GBR) has been involved with the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team – stepping in to train with the team in San Francisco (Season 2), representing the team as the fleet reserve female athlete in Plymouth (Season 3) and is now involved in the team’s wider pathway program.

Male Season 2 Inspire Champion Sean Herbert (NZL) had an exhilarating ride on the F50 with the New Zealand SailGP Team in Sydney and has since started working with SailGP Technologies where he has learnt about the complex engineering behind these amazing machines.

The Inspire x WASZP racing program includes training clinics in the lead-up to race days with professional foiling coaches, meet and greets with SailGP Team athletes and senior members of SailGP staff for careers advice and work experiences, as well as additional fitness training.

The Racing in San Francisco will take place during the SailGP event – before and during F50 racing on a mini version of the SailGP race course.

“The Inspire WASZP Grand Final brings the talent of the next generation together on the global stage to compete and learn from the best sailing athletes in the world,” said SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts. “As part of our Better Sport strategy, we are supporting and developing the talent of the future, regardless of background, and creating a clear route to competing onboard the F50s.”

Finalists that won at the SailGP Season Three events*
• Bermuda: Rachael Betschart (18) and Ethan Thompson (15)
• USA: Rebecca Heller (18) and Gavin Ball (19)
• Great Britain: Eve Kennedy (19) and Duncan Gregor (18)
• Denmark: Hedvig Doksrød (16) and Jacob Wærsten (16)
• France: Emilie Bouchet (19) and Hippolyte Gruet (20)
• Spain: Isi Collado Font (17) and Quique Urios Salinas (20)
• Singapore: Daniel Ian Toh (20)
• Australia: Seisia Mair (18) and Louis Tilly (15)
• New Zealand: Stella Bilger (17) and Noah Malpot (17)
* Sailor nationality may be different. No qualifiers were held at the Dubai event.

SailGP information – San Francisco details – Season 3 scoreboard – YouTube – How to watch

Season Three Standings (after 10 of 11 events)
1. Australia (Tom Slingsby), 84 points
2. New Zealand (Peter Burling), 73 points
3. France (Quintin Delapierre), 69 points
4. Great Britain (Ben Ainslie), 68 points
5. Denmark (Nicolai Sehested), 60 points
6. Canada (Phil Robertson), 59 points
7. United States (Jimmy Spithill), 57 points
8. Switzerland (Sebastien Schneiter), 29 points
9. Spain (Jordi Xammar/Diego Botin), 29 points

PENALTIES
• Spain SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Plymouth
• Switzerland SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Saint-Tropez
• United Stated SailGP Team: Docked four points in Season Championship for eight-point penalty at Saint-Tropez
• New Zealand SailGP Team: Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Dubai; Docked two points in Season Championship for four-point penalty at Singapore

2022-23 SailGP Season 3 Schedule
May 14-15, 2022 – Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess
June 18-19, 2022 – United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier
July 30-31, 2022 – Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth
August 19-20, 2022 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix | Copenhagen
September 10-11, 2022 – France Sail Grand Prix | Saint-Tropez
September 24-25, 2022 – Spain Sail Grand Prix | Andalucía – Cádiz
November 12-13, 2022 – Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas
January 14-15, 2023 – Singapore Sail Grand Prix
February 18-19, 2023 – Australia Sail Grand Prix | Sydney
March 18-19, 2023 – New Zealand Sail Grand Prix | Christchurch
May 6-7, 2023 – United States Sail Grand Prix | San Francisco (Season 3 Grand Final)

Format for 2022-23 SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three qualifying races each day for all nine teams.*
• 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 prize money to be split among the top three teams.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.
* Qualifying schedule increased from five to six races at France SailGP.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans for event prize money as the season culminates with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.

Source: Ortega Daily Times, SailGP

Source:SailGP