Olympic Dreams On the Line at Sailing World Cup Miami

With the calendar switched to an Olympic year, the intensity on the water at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella is a match for the famously bright South Florida sun. In less than 200 days, many of the nearly 800 sailors gathered in Coconut Grove this week will walk in the Opening Ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. For the sailors with a confirmed spot in the Olympic Regatta, this event is about sharpening their tactical game, refining their equipment and improving their conditioning. Others have a more immediate focus as they are in the midst of a selection series for their respective countries or working to qualify their country for the Olympic regatta.

“There’s a lot at stake this year at Sailing World Cup Miami,” said Josh Adams, Managing Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. “For the first time in the event’s 27-year history, it’s being used as part of the U.S. selection process and part of country qualification process for the 2016 Olympic Games.”

For American sailors in eight of the Olympic classes and the 2.4mR, this event is the first of two events that will determine the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team for this summer’s Games.

Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From 25-30 January 2016, Coconut Grove, Miami, USA is hosting more than 780 sailors who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

Sailing World Cup Miami is the second of six regattas in the 2016 series. From January 25-30, 2016, Coconut Grove, Fla., is hosting more than 780 sailors from around the world who are competing across the ten Olympic and two Paralympic classes on the beautiful waters of Biscayne Bay.

The Sailing World Cup Miami presented by Sunbrella is the second event in the six-regatta 2016 Sailing World Cup. Competition in US Sailing’s premiere racing event gets underway this Monday in all 10 Olympic classes and two of three Paralympic classes. Saturday’s Medal Races will be carried live on ESPN3.

The Olympic classes competing this week will be: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Nacra 17 (mixed) and 49erFX (women). Paralympic classes included are the 2.4mR (open, Para World Sailing) and Sonar (open, Para World Sailing).

Befitting an event of this magnitude, this evening athletes, volunteers and regatta officials participated in an Opening Ceremony on the lawn of the Coral Reef Yacht Club. The 68 national flags ringing the lawn—and the variety of languages heard in the various boat parks—are a stirring reminder of the global popularity of this event. The event record of 855 sailors, which was set last year, is safe; the 2016 edition of the Sailing World Cup will rank third in terms of attendance. The 68 nations attending breaks the record set in 2015.

“Sailing World Cup Miami is a pivotal event for Olympic sailors on the road to Rio. The caliber of the athletes that will be on show in Miami is exceptional and many of the medalists here will be on the Olympic podium in August,” said Sailing World Cup Manager, Antonio Gonzalez de la Madrid. “Racing in Miami in January provides a welcome respite for the European sailors looking to escape the European winter. We have World Champions Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich (ITA) in the 49erFX, Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) in the Nacra 17 and Danish Laser Radial star Anne Marie Rindom. That’s to name but a few in the world class fields we have on show in the ten Olympic and two Paralympic events.”

The trickle down of having all these top international athletes training and racing in the United States every January should not be understated.

“The training leading up to this regatta is at a very high level,” said Adams. “For the US Sailing Team Sperry and our overall Olympic program, there’s great value in this event. Our athletes are able to go out and train against the world’s best.”

Racing gets underway tomorrow at 10 a.m. (EST), weather providing and will run until the late afternoon each day through Friday. Saturday’s double-point medal races—a shorter sprint for glory with just the top 10 sailors in each class competing—will start at 11 a.m., and be broadcast live on ESPN3.

—Stuart Streuli, Sailing World Cup Miami

Photo credits: Pedro Martinez & Jesus Renedo/Sailing Energy/World Sailing

RESULTS / ENTRIES
An entry list for Sailing World Cup Miami can be found here
Once racing starts on Monday, January 25, results will be available hereLIVE VIDEO
Medal Races on Saturday 30 January will be broadcast live on the World Sailing YouTube channel as well as on 10 major broadcasters including ESPN3 in the USA.LIVE TRACKING
A majority of the fleets will be available to watch in 2D and 3D via the live tracking, which will be available here

Live Tracking via the Sailviewer-3D Tablet App will be available for devices with 7″ or greater screens.
Click here to download the iOS Application –
Click here to download the Android Application –

COMPETITION STATUS
The Competition Status Screen feeds in straight from the Race Committee boats with the teams inputting data such as race times, course type, the status of each race and the plan moving forward. Once racing commences, the competition status screen will be available here\

Sailing World Cup Miami
The Sailing World Cup Miami 2016 presented by Sunbrella is the premier North American event for top-level Olympic and Paralympic class sailors, and the only North American regatta to be included in World Sailing’s 2015-16 Sailing World Cup series. Competitors in the 10 Olympic and two Paralympic events will have five days of fleet racing from Monday, January 25 to Friday, January 29. Medal Races across the Olympic classes will bring the regatta to a close on Saturday, January 30, where medals will be awarded to the top three boats. The regatta is organized by US Sailing.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, a U.S. Olympic Training Site, in Coconut Grove, Miami, Fla. Additional hosts for the event include the City of Miami’s Regatta Park, Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Shake-A-Leg Miami. The Coral Reef Yacht Club hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and is the site for the Regatta Village throughout the week.

Sailing World Cup Miami is presented by Sunbrella, and sponsored by BeneteauJeanneauLagoonSperryChubb Personal InsuranceCity of MiamiHarkenMcLubeCoral Reef Sailing ApparelUHealth Sports Performance and Wellness InstituteAdventure Sports MiamiSwitlikSturgis Boat WorksVetus-MaxwellPapa’s Pilar RumNacra Racing, and Beneath the Waves.

US Sailing
Sailing World Cup Miami Presented by Sunbrella is organized by the United States Sailing Association (US Sailing), the national governing body for sailing, which provides leadership, integrity, and growth for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team Sperry. For more information, please visit us at www.ussailing.org.

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