by the SSL vision: ‘When I started sailing, the true legends – Straulino, Elvstrøm, North, Buchan, Melges, De Cardnas, Knowles – were the motivating examples that pushed me to progress and guided my way. I think that Schümann, Grael, Coutts, Ainslie and Cayard were also inspired by Olympic heroes to themselves become legends. Contemporary youth has the same desire as us; it seeks the heroes who will be their role models and who will give meaning to their daily lives. And rightly, the SSL Nations Gold Cup offers a media platform that will allow youth and also sports fans to discover Scheidt, Scott, Percy, Goodison, Fantela – our contemporary heroes.
boats provided by SSL and exploiting the successful format of the FIFA World Cup, the SSL Nations Gold Cup aims to shine the spotlight on the athletes. We want this event to excite people’s passion for sport, and pride for their nation. Fans will stand behind their teams, they will support them wearing the T-shirt of their national heroes and kids all around the world will be able to collect their Panini stickers. That’s the vision we have for this event.’
Strong captain, diverse crew Key to each national team will be the appointment of a captain, as Kusznierewicz explains: ‘The captain may well be a very good sailor, but not necessarily. Provided they are a good organiser, an inspiring leader, and an experienced manager, they might steer the boat or they might even stay ashore.’ The captain will have the right to select four of the 11 crew, while the remainder will be selected based on their position on the SSL Global Ranking [see end note]. ‘One of the strongest appeals of the SSL Nations Gold Cup is that we will offer equal chances for all top sailors to participate, regardless of financial and political barriers. So the top-ranked athletes in the SSL Global Ranking will automatically be selected, and they will come from all parts of the sport, from both inshore and offshore. We could see sailors from the Olympic circuit, the America’s Cup, the big offshore races and the champions from popular fleets like the J/70, the Snipe, the Melges classes and even the International Moth.’
The boat
The Star Sailors League will provide the boats for all participating teams. Currently in the design phase, the plan is for a powerful keelboat with
It’s all about the sailors Dennis Conner, five-time America’s Cup winner and SSL honorary president, explains why he is excited
A biennial event starting in 2021, the Nations Gold Cup will use the same nationality principle as the Olympic Games to enable teams to represent their country in closely matched
international competition. Poland’s
1996 Olympic Finn class champion, Mateusz
Kuznierewicz (number 2 in the photo above) is one of the chief architects of the concept. A powerful new 14-metre keelboat will be designed and purpose- built as a
dedicated one design fleet for the Cup to ensure an interesting modern boat and a level playing field for all of the competitors
a bowsprit and an overall length of around 45-47ft.
The venue
The first edition in 2021 will take place at a traditional European venue, says Kusznierewicz. ‘It will need to be a site capable of delivering good sailing conditions on the water and great entertainment on land. The race village will include all administration, race management, press centre, broadcast and hospitality facilities, as well as a spectator area close to the racecourse to allow the public to watch the regattas live on site. We aim to make sure the event venue is run in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.’
The training centre
The Star Sailors League has a new headquarters located on the shores of a beautiful lake in Switzerland. The headquarters consists of a comfortable manor house, a private harbour and a boat park. This venue will offer training sessions to every team set to take part in the SSL Nations Gold Cup. Each team will be allocated a limited number of training days per year, with more training days permitted to emerging nations. Besides sailing skills development, each team will have access to help and support for developing their own sponsorship and promotional programme. The first three-day training sessions and workshop sessions are already scheduled and will take place in the spring of 2019. In March 2019 the first national teams will be introduced and their captains presented.
‘It’s the people who make a sailing class great,’ he continues. ‘It’s the people who compete in the SSL events that really make the concept great, which is why I’m so proud to be the honorary president of the Star Sailors League.’
Robert Scheidt, five times an Olympic medallist, has been involved since the start of the Star Sailors League. ‘In 2013, with Bruno Prada, we helped to design and then participated in the first competition according to the SSL format, the first SSL Finals,’ he explains. ‘This tennis- inspired elimination system, which aims to crown the champion after a single final, is immensely exciting. We chose the format, but it turned out to be incredibly demanding. ‘That year with Bruno, even after winning the qualifying, we had to fight every moment to stay alive in the quarters, then in the semifinals. In the one-heat final, the leader changed four times and we were so relieved once we’d crossed the finish line. We had won, but we had also found a new exciting racing concept for the public and the athletes, without changing the spirit and tradition of the sport.
With Torben Grael, I plan to participate in the SSL Nations Gold Cup to fly the flag for Brazil, but also for our sport, to help bring a new level of popularity to sailing and to the sailors.’
www.starsailors.com
SSL Global Ranking The SSL Ranking serves as a unified classification of all sailors who compete in the most popular regattas worldwide. It is calculated using a mathematical rule which takes into account the sporting results of each competitor over a two-year period. Higher profile and more competitive international regattas count more highly than smaller regional regattas.
SEAHORSE 73 q
STAR SAILORS LEAGUE/GILLES MORELLE
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