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SailGP

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SailGP
SailGP's logo
SportSailing fleet race
Founded2019
Founder
Owner(s)F50 League LLC
CEORussell Coutts
MottoPowered by Nature
No. of teams10
Most recent
champion(s)		Spain Spain SailGP Team
(2023–24 SailGP championship)
Most titlesTom Slingsby
Official websiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Current sports event 2023–24 SailGP championship
The F50s of the Japan and United States SailGP teams foiling in New York Harbour at the New York Sail Grand Prix – part of SailGP's inaugural 2019 season.

SailGP is an international sailing competition that features high-performance F50 foiling catamarans, where teams compete across a season of multiple grands prix (GP) around the world.[1] The reigning champion is Diego Botín's Spain SailGP Team, which won the 2023–24 SailGP championship.

Background

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The competition was started in 2019 by Larry Ellison (co-founder of Oracle) and champion yachtsman Russell Coutts.[2] They aimed to establish a commercially viable global sailing race series with a large audience. This had been unsuccessfully attempted in the past with events such as the Extreme Sailing Series. The SailGP format uses fast-foiling catamarans in a variety of locations.[3] Teams are currently owned by the competition, with the intention of becoming privately owned.[4]

In the 2023–2024 fourth season, the fleet grew to 10 teams, with five being privately owned. The organizers expect two more teams for the 2024–2025 fifth season.[5]

Racing

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The F50 boats used in the competition are one-design boats maintained and operated by SailGP. Technical information is also shared between teams, which includes large amounts of data collected using Oracle hardware and software systems. This is intended to prevent secret "arms races" that the organizers believe dominate the America's Cup and to ensure that the outcomes of races are determined by skill and ability, and not technology.[6][7][8]

Each SailGP event consists of two days of competitive racing. The first day has three fleet races, while the second day has two fleet races and a match race final.[9]

The final race of the season is a match race between the highest-scoring crews over the season, with the winner earning a US$1 million prize.[10][11] In the 2019 SailGP championship, the two highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualified for the final; in the 2021-22 SailGP championship, the three highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualified for the final.[12]

The circuit has been funded for five years (through 2023) to allow the competition to become self-sustaining.[7]

Scoring

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Scoring at events

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Fleet races in each event are scored with the winning team scoring ten points, the second-place team scoring nine points, and so on. The three highest-ranking teams in the event leaderboard qualify for the match race final of that event.[12]

Scoring in the championship

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The winner of the match race final is awarded ten points in the championship leaderboard, with second and third place being awarded nine and eight points respectively. Teams who did not qualify for the match race final are awarded points corresponding to their rankings in the event leaderboard.[12]

Penalties

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After the 2021 Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, additional penalty rules were put in place to discourage collisions on the race course. Boats that collide during an event accumulate contact and damage points, which result in deductions from the season championship.[13]

Crew Roles

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Driver

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The driver,[14] or helm, is responsible for making decisions regarding the boat's course on the racecourse and communicating the plan to the crew. Additionally, many skippers, including the driver, are heavily involved in the logistics of the event.

Flight Controller

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The flight controller's[14] primary responsibility is to maintain the boat's elevation, aiming to keep it airborne as much as possible. Any time the boat touches the water is considered a mistake by the flight controller. They work closely with the driver and wing trimmer to ensure the boat maintains its speed and stability.

Wing Trimmer

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The wing trimmer[14] is tasked with understanding how to generate and distribute power effectively on the boat. They have control over the wing's shape, influencing the boat's performance. The wing trimmer collaborates closely with the driver to optimize sailing modes for speed.

Grinder

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Grinders[14] are positioned at the front of the boat, with one facing forward and the other facing backward. They operate the winch handle to assist in trimming the wing sheet efficiently. This requires precision and coordination with the wing trimmer to deliver the necessary power.

Strategist

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The strategist or tactician, positioned behind the driver, plays a role in analyzing data and providing strategic input. They are responsible for monitoring changing wind conditions, assisting in maneuvers, and keeping a close watch on the fleet. With the introduction of a control panel and information display screen, the role of the strategist has become even more integral to sailing.[15]

Past winners

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Year Winners Runner-up 3rd place
2019 Australia Australia
Tom Slingsby 		Japan Japan
Nathan Outteridge 		China China
Phil Robertson
2021–22 Australia Australia
Tom Slingsby 		Japan Japan
Nathan Outteridge 		United States United States
Jimmy Spithill
2022–23 Australia Australia
Tom Slingsby 		New Zealand New Zealand
Peter Burling 		United Kingdom Great Britain
Ben Ainslie
2023–24 Spain Spain
Diego Botín 		Australia Australia
Tom Slingsby 		New Zealand New Zealand
Peter Burling

Seasons

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2019 season

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Main article: 2019 SailGP championship

The inaugural competition was in 2019 with six teams competing from Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States of America. The competition consisted of a circuit of five race meets in Sydney,[16] San Francisco,[17] New York,[18] Cowes,[19] and Marseille. The Australian team, skippered by Tom Slingsby, won the competition and the prize in a final match race against the Japanese team skippered by Nathan Outteridge.[20]

Over the first season, SailGP attracted over 133,000 live spectators and had a television audience of 1.8 billion. The five races had a claimed economic benefit of US$115 million for their host cities.[21][22][23]

New Zealand SailGP Team competing on San Francisco Bay
New Zealand SailGP Team competing in the United States Grand Prix in March 2022 on San Francisco Bay.

2021–22 season

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Main article: 2021–22 SailGP championship

Originally due to be contested in 2020, the season was postponed to 2021 after the first round in Sydney due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and was then extended into the early months of 2022.[24]

The second season of SailGP introduced two new teams to the sport, with Spain replacing the Chinese team[25] and Denmark joining as the 7th team.[26] The British team changed as well, signing four-time Olympic Gold medalist and America's Cup skipper Ben Ainslie. The revamped team introduced members of the original British team and the America's Cup team Ineos Team UK.[27]

This season was scheduled to visit the same venues of the first season but with Marseille swapped out for Copenhagen for the final venue, which coincided with the arrival of the new Danish team.[28] The first round of the season began in Sydney, Australia. On the first day, Ben Ainslie and his British team won the first three races.[29] On the second day of racing, Great Britain won a further race in the fleet races, with Australia taking the final fleet race. In the championship race, Great Britain beat the Australian team, winning them their first event title.[30]

The second round of the 2020 SailGP race was due to be held in San Francisco, in May 2020,[31] however SailGP suspended its season until 2021 due to the pandemic, with points from the Sydney race removed from the championship.[32]

The 2021–22 SailGP championship saw the arrival of the New Zealand SailGP Team, skippered by two-time America's Cup winner and 49er gold medalist Peter Burling.[33] The season commenced in April 2021 with the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix, which was won by Ben Ainslie's Great Britain SailGP team.[34] Future venues include Taranto, Plymouth, Aarhus, Saint-Tropez, Cádiz, and Lyttelton Harbour, with the final venue being San Francisco.[35]

Ultimately the season was won by the Australia SailGP team in the final race in San Francisco Bay.[36]

2022–23 season

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Main article: 2022–23 SailGP championship

The third season of SailGP again introduced two new teams to the sport, with Canada and Switzerland joining, and three new venues, with the additions of Dubai, Singapore, and New Zealand. The venue in Denmark was moved from Aarhus to Copenhagen and there were two venues in the United States: Chicago and San Francisco[37]

2023–24 season

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Main article: 2023–24 SailGP championship

The fourth season of SailGP intended to introduce a fan-owned team to the sport, representing Bermuda and the Caribbean, but funding considerations delayed their entry.[38] A new team, representing Germany, was added as the tenth SailGP team. The new team is co-owned by Riedel Communications owner Thomas Riedel and former Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel.[39]

2024–25 season

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Main article: 2024–25 SailGP championship

The fifth season of SailGP includes new stops in Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (two stops), a yet-to-be-announced Middle Eastern country, and a return to Great Britain, as well as the introduction of the new Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team[40] as well as Italy SailGP Team.

Teams

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Australian, Chinese and British SailGP team in 2019
SailGP Teams[41]
Team Name Country Ownership Years active
Australia SailGP Team Australia league since 2019
Canada SailGP Team Canada private since 2022
Rockwool Denmark SailGP Team Denmark private since 2021
France SailGP Team France league since 2019
Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team United Kingdom private since 2019
New Zealand SailGP Team New Zealand league since 2021
Spain SailGP Team Spain league since 2021
Switzerland SailGP Team Switzerland private since 2022
United States SailGP Team United States private[42] since 2019
Germany SailGP Team Germany private since 2023
Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team Brazil private[43] Since 2024
Italy SailGP Team Italy private[44] Since 2024
Former Teams
China SailGP Team China league 2019
Japan SailGP Team Japan league 2019–2022

eSailGP

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Starting 2019, SailGP also organized an Esports competition known as eSailGP for three seasons.[45]

References

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  1. ^ "Ellison and Coutts launch league for 'supercharged' cats". 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
  2. ^ Futterman, Matthew (20 September 2019). "Russell Coutts Likes Sailing Races With Big Money at Stake". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ^ Ayles, Jason (8 October 2019). "Sir Russell Coutts Wants To Build SailGP Legacy After Successful Inaugural Series Of Global Sailing Event". Forbes. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  4. ^ ""The intention is that each team will eventually be independently owned" | Russell Coutts, SailGP". SportBusiness. 2 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  5. ^ Bolle, Lars. "Profisegeln: Wird der SailGP die neue Formel 1?". YACHT - Alles rund ums Segeln (in German). Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  6. ^ Preston, Rob. "SailGP Brings A Very Different Yacht Race To San Francisco Bay". Forbes. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b "SailGP, Making Sailing Cool". Sailing World. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. ^ Hodgetts, Rob (4 October 2018). "Software tycoon Larry Ellison sets up SailGP circuit to rival America's Cup". CNN. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  9. ^ "SailGP: All you need to know about the 2021 season". Yachting World. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  10. ^ "$1 million payday awaits inaugural SailGP champion". Japan Today. 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  11. ^ "SailGP's 'wizards of Aus' fly high in million dollar final". 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
  12. ^ a b c "SailGP Explained // How Scoring Works". SailGP. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  13. ^ "SailGP Explained // Penalties". SailGP. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d "What are Drivers, Flight Controllers, Wing Trimmers and Grinders? F50 crew roles explained". SailGP. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  15. ^ "The strategist role on board the F50 is changing: Here's how". SailGP. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  16. ^ "SailGP comes to Sydney". 21 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  17. ^ Fitzgerald, By Tom (2 May 2019). "SailGP brings the world's fastest sailboats to the bay". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Japanese team dominates New York SailGP race". UPI. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  19. ^ "SailGP comes to Cowes | Inbrief | e-newsletters | News & Events | RYA – Royal Yachting Association". www.rya.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  20. ^ "How a $1 million prize was decided by just 78 centimetres". ABC News. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  21. ^ SportBusiness Staff (10 October 2019). "SailGP claims $115m economic impact for five host cities". SportsBusiness. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ "SailGP reveals economic impac". Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  23. ^ "SailGP attracts global audience of 1.8 billion in Season 1". mysailing.com.au. 9 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  24. ^ "SailGP Season 2 rescheduled for 2021". SailGP. 4 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Sailing: Spain sets sights on SailGP after China jumps ship". reuters.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Denmark SailGP Team to join world-class lineup for Season 2". mysailing.com.au. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Sir Ben Ainslie to skipper British SailGP team in 2020". BBC Sport. 26 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Denmark gets event in SailGP Season 2". sailingscuttlebutt.com. 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  29. ^ "British team dominates at SailGP". Scuttlebutt Sailing News. 28 February 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  30. ^ "Ben Ainslie and Great Britain cap off dominating performance with Sydney SailGP title". SailGP. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  31. ^ Warren, Adrian (29 February 2020). "GB sink Australia's hopes in Sydney SailGP". 7 News Australia. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  32. ^ "SailGP Season 2 rescheduled for 2021". SailGP. 4 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  33. ^ "SailGP announces addition of New Zealand team, led by Olympic and America's Cup champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke". SailGP. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Great Britain stuns dominant Australia to be crowned Bermuda Sail Grand Prix champion on dramatic final day". SailGP. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  35. ^ "SailGP's Season 2 to feature eight global events from April 2021 to March 2022". SailGP. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  36. ^ World, Yachting (28 March 2022). "Slingsby and Co win SailGP Season 2". Yachting World. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  37. ^ "Two further venues added to SailGP Season 3 calendar as more 2023 dates are revealed". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  38. ^ "First Fan-Owned Team launches for SailGP". SailGP. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Sebastian Vettel Announces New Yacht Racing Team". Jalopnik. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  40. ^ "SailGP Announces 2024-2025 Season Calendar". SailGP. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  41. ^ "SailGP: 'Interest in private team ownership has soared' - Russell Coutts". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  42. ^ Allen, G. W. (29 November 2023). "DeAndre Hopkins, Issa Rae, and More Celebs Just Bought the U.S. SailGP Team". Robb Report. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  43. ^ "REVEALED: MUBADALA BRAZIL SAILGP TEAM SET TO JOIN SAILGP IN SEASON 5". SailGP. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  44. ^ "Jimmy Spithill to depart U.S. and set up Italy SailGP Team". SailGP. 21 June 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  45. ^ "Play eSailGP Esports – Best Virtual Sailing Game". sailweb.co.uk. 18 September 2019.
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