The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. Matches are held several years apart on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger. There is no fixed schedule, but the races have generally been held every three to four years. The most recent America's Cup match took place in March 2021.
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as other competitions. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup. Alinghi challenged for and won the 2003 America's Cup in Auckland New Zealand and successfully defended it at the 2007 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. Alinghi lost the America's Cup to the Golden Gate Yacht Club and their team BMW Oracle Racing in a Deed of Gift match in Valencia, Spain in February 2010.
Marstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for historical reasons Marstrand is often referred to as a city. The town has expanded to the neighbouring island of Koön, which has bridge access to the mainland.
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
San Diego Yacht Club is a yacht club located in San Diego Bay. It is located in Point Loma across from a spit of land known as Shelter Island.
Paul Pierre Cayard is an American yachtsman and professional sailor. He has competed at multiple world championship level sailing events, including the America's Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Race, the Volvo Ocean Race and the Olympic Games. In 1998 he was selected as the US Rolex Yachtsmen of the Year. He has won seven world championships, twice participated in the Olympic Games and seven times in the America's Cup. In 2011 he was elected into the US Sailing Hall of Fame.
Sailing has been one of the Olympic sports since the Games of the I Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Despite being scheduled in the first Olympic program, the races were canceled due to severe weather conditions. Apart from the 1904 Summer Olympics, sailing has been present in every edition of the Olympic Games.
The Dragon is a one-design keelboat designed by Norwegian Johan Anker in 1929. In 1948 the Dragon became an Olympic Class, a status it retained until the Munich Olympics in 1972. The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP construction was introduced in 1973 and the rigging has been regularly updated.
The Monsoon Cup was a yacht race in Malaysia, held in the state of Terengganu.
The 6th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2003. The winner, Alinghi, went on to challenge for and win the 2003 America's Cup.
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) features world class sailors including America's Cup and Olympic champions, in a global championship series. WMRT is sanctioned with ‘Special Event Status’ by World Sailing, the sport's world governing body. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned official Match Racing World Champion.
Helsingfors Segelsällskap r.f. (HSS), Helsinki Sailing Society, is the second oldest yacht club in Helsinki, established in 1893. The yacht club has 1000+ members and mainly sail boats in the register. The club is located on Liuskasaari island in the middle of southern Helsinki. Liuskasaari is a few minutes ferry ride away from Merisatamanranta. HSS hosts a popular full service guest harbor for 20 boats. The club also has a substantial contingent of expat sailors residing in Helsinki.
The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
Peter Gilmour is an Australian sailing skipper. He is an America's Cup veteran and was named Western Australian Sportsman of the Year in 1987. He is also the only 4 time World Match racing Tour Champion. He currently resides in Perth, Western Australia.
The Royal Swedish Yacht Club, is the largest and oldest yacht club in Sweden and one of the five oldest in the world, formed 15 May 1830. The Royal Swedish Yacht Club is also the oldest yacht club in Continental Europe.
Lucinda Whitty is an Australian sailor. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in sailing.
The DS 37 Match Racer is a 11.25-metre (36.9 ft) long sloop rigged sailboat, designed by Jacob Vierø in 1991 and used in the Stena Match Cup Sweden, part of the World Match Racing Tour. The design of the boat emphasizes that it is used for match racing, with an oversized rudder, and simple controls. The boat is popular as a teaching boat for beginners as well because of its simplicity and robustness. However, in Match racing, it is one of the most physically demanding boats found in the international matchracing circuit. The boat is used mainly in the Scandinavian countries, where it can be found as inventory of several of the big yacht clubs, such as the Royal Danish Yacht Club or the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club.
Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club is a yacht club in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was founded in 1860. Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club resides in Långedrag and Marstrand.
Thore Göran Andersson was a Swedish Olympic sailor and sailmaker.
