Narrowing the skill gap for SailGP teams

The SailGP sports league has continually added new teams, but it became apparent in the fourth season how the ability gap was getting hard to close. Practice time has always been limited before events, and with some teams and athletes involved since the beginning, the league hope to improve the landscape by offering two training camps before Season 5 begins.

Beginning August 25 in Bermuda, four teams – Brazil, Denmark, Germany, and USA – will have a three week training session on SailGP’s high-tech, F50 catamaran.

“Bermuda provides optimal racing conditions, and this additional training window will give select teams vital experience of the F50,” noted SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson.

SailGP will have a fully operational tech site on the island with real-time data transmission for the teams to monitor their performance. The second camp is planned for October in Dubai, host of the first event for Season 5 on November 23-24, 2024.

SailGP information – YouTube – Facebook

Season 5 Schedule
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE

2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-26 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Brazil *
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Great Britain *
August 16-17 – Germany *
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East *
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* Venue to be announced

Format for Season 4:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the $300,000.00 USD event prize money purse (increases to $400k for Abu Dhabi with the winning team now earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming the $2 million USD prize.
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will be awarded $350,000.00.

For competition documents, click here.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP