Expanded field for 2024 Congressional Cup

The 59th edition of the Congressional Cup has expanded the field from 10 to 12 teams when it gets underway on April 24-28 in Long Beach, CA. As the opening event of the 2024 World Match Racing Tour, the expansion provides entry to 2023 Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and a third team from the Ficker Cup qualifying regatta.

“This year we found a bounty of skippers all ranked in the top 10 by World Sailing who accepted our invitations,” explained 2024 Congressional Cup Chair Tony Mansour. “At the time the invitations were sent, Ian Williams was not ranked nearly as high and the WMRT final in China had not yet been contested.

“With the exceptional field this year, we decided to expand the range of competitors to include more skippers, while still keeping the competition fair to those already invited to both the Congressional Cup and the Ficker Cup. As a result, we settled upon the announced changes.”

Eight skippers had previously been confirmed which includes defending champion Chris Poole (USA) and four-time Congressional Cup winner Gavin Brady (USA) who returns after a dozen-year hiatus. Williams and three Ficker Cup qualifiers will make it 12 teams, but Mansour said there is no plan to make this larger fleet a permanent change.

The event format begins with a double round robin stage to advance the top four teams for Semi-Final and Final matches. Competition takes place off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier with live commentary and free spectating. The event is live streamed starting April 26.

Tour information – Event details – Facebook

2024 Confirmed Skippers*
1. Chris Poole, USA, Riptide Racing (WS Ranking #1)
2. Eric Monnin, SUI, Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team (WS Ranking #2)
3. Johnie Berntsson, SWE, Berntsson Sailing Team (WS Ranking #3)
4. Jeppe Borch, DEN, Borch Racing (WS Ranking #4)
5. Mati Sepp, EST, Clean Energy Match Race Team (WS Ranking #6)
6. Nick Egnot-Johnson, NZL, Knots Racing (WS Ranking #7)
7. Ian Williams, GBR, China.one Ningbo (WS Ranking #11)
8. Gavin Brady, USA, True Blue Racing (WS Ranking #14)
9. Dave Hood, USA, DH3 Racing (WS Ranking #33)
10. Qualifier from Ficker Cup 2024
11. Qualifier from Ficker Cup 2024
12. Qualifier from Ficker Cup 2024
* World Sailing Ranking as of January 1, 2024

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.

Previous champions include Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Bertrand Pace (FRA), Jesper Radich (DEN), Phil Robertson (NZL), and Ian Williams (GBR).

Since inception, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD23million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors.

Source: LBYC