56TH CONGRESSIONAL CUP ANNOUNCES NEW DATES

LONG BEACH, Calif. 13 January 2021 –  56th Congressional Cup Chairman Chris Macy from Long Beach Yacht Club has announced the 2021 event will be postponed to mid-September in light of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery. “We look forward to celebrating a return to the glory of Congressional Cup racing,” commented Macy of the event.  

Originally scheduled in April, the revised schedule will commence with the Ficker Cup qualifier event from Sept. 10 to 12, to determine the final two entries to Congressional Cup. On Wednesday Sept. 15, the thrill of premier-level match racing returns to the waters off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier for five exciting days: culminating with finals Sunday Sept. 19. Racing commences at roughly noon each day and is held in a fleet of identical 37-foot Catalina keelboats, which guarantee a focus on skill and tactics.

CONGRESSIONAL CUP 2019

The last Congressional Cup was held in April of 2019 – leaving world-class skippers long in suspense to see who will next wear the Crimson Blazer. In that contest Ian Williams (GBR) scrambled up the leaderboard through an international field of top ranked skippers after a slow start. Warming up in the California sunshine, six-time match racing world champion Williams and his Team GAC Pindar subsequently enjoyed an 11-match winning streak, eliminating foe Taylor Canfield (USA) in the semis and striking out Scott Dickson (USA) in the finals, to win the iconic Crimson Blazer.

Doing so, Williams secured his fourth Congressional Cup title: a feat matched by an elite few including Canfield, Gavin Brady, Rod Davis and Peter Holmberg.

For further information and announcements please visit www.thecongressionalcup.com

For information on the World Match Racing Tour go to www.wmrt.com

ABOUT LONG BEACH YACHT CLUB

Established in 1929, Long Beach Yacht Club is recognized as a leader in the international yachting community for its commitment to excellence in yacht racing and innovation in race management. In addition to hosting the Congressional Cup and numerous other local, national and international yachting events, the Club’s member families enjoy a year-round calendar of social, yachting and junior activities at its beautiful clubhouse on the shore of Alamitos Bay. www.lbyc.org

ABOUT WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR 

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 WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body – World Sailing – and 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 2000, 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. www.wmrt.com