The first ever European Match Race Tour in sailing is set to kick off this February in Šibenik.
Helmut Czasny announces the European Match Race Tour, a new match race series in Europe that was formed by event organizers across the continent to promote sailing in general and match racing in particular. The tour will sail through 7 countries before heading to the Grand Final in Italy’s Ravenna. Only the top 8 sailors with the best rankings will be invited to the Grand Final.
In an effort to revive the sailing scene in Šibenik, especially during the winter months, the tour will start in Šibenik hosted by WAVE Sailing Center in Croatia. The race will take off in our coastal Croatian town this February before moving to the Portomontenegro marina in Tivat. The tour will then head to Vienna, and continue on to Sicily and the Yacht Club de Monaco. After visiting Copenhagen in June, the race will continue to Germany’s Ploen which will be the last event to qualify for the Grand Final. The finals will be hosted in Italy by Circolo Vela Ravennate in September.
“This is a fantastic initiative which will give match racing an additional stage! We look very much forward to it!” said Thomas Czajka, winner of the recent Christmas Match Race in Trieste with OneSails CEO Christian Binder at the helm.
Invitations will be sent to teams that finished first or second at their national championships last year and to the best ranked nationals. Depending on availability, other match racers are welcome to join the first edition of the European Match Race Tour.
Here are the provisional dates:
Tour Stop 1 – 10-12 February – Šibenik, CRO – WAVE Sailing Center
Tour Stop 2 – 17-19 March – Tivat, MNE
Tour Stop 3 – 31 March – 2 April – Vienna, AUT
Tour Stop 4 – 7-9 April – Monaco, MON
Tour Stop 5 – 5-7 May – Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, ITA
Tour Stop 6 – June – Copenhagen, DEN
Tour Stop 7 – 25 – 27 August – Ploen, GER
Grand Final 2017 – 8 – 10 September – Ravenna, ITA
You can find more information at the Waves Sailing Center offical webpage or on their Facebook page.
