(London, 17 August 2022). The 23rd edition of the leading German match racing event – Match Race Germany – has been forced to postpone to 2023 due to unprecedented low water levels in Lake Constance. The next edition of the event will take place 24-29 May 2023 over the Whitsun break.
The recent low water level warnings in Lake Constance and existing planning uncertainties for the autumn have left the organizers from Match Center Germany no choice but to postpone the popular event once again. “We are a sailing festival that lives for the audience and with the fans” commented Event Director Harald Thierer in explaining the difficult decision they have had to make “with an uncertain pandemic outlook and conditions for the autumn and without enough water in Lake Constance, we cannot deliver the show that Match Race Germany is all about and that our audience and our partners deserve.”
Currently, the threateningly low water level in Lake Constance is approaching its historic low mark. Little snowfall and the early melting in winter, plus an unusually warm summer too little rain have contributed to the situation. The level is less than 20 centimeters away from its historic low. With no prospect of heavy rainfall in the near future, Lake Constance with its border triangle between Germany, Austria and Switzerland is falling approximately four centimetres a day. Many harbours in the region have already dried up completely, others are no longer accessible due to lack of water depth. There is also a mood of alarm in the home port of the Match Race Germany: ships with a draught of more than 1.20 metres can already no longer call at Langenargen’s Gondola Harbour. “We assume that we will reach the historic low, which we have not yet experienced ourselves in two decades of operating the harbour master’s office in Langenargen, this year,” added Harald Thierer. “Under these circumstances, hosting a spectator event near the shore in early autumn is not conceivable. The match race boats would have to be accommodated in the friendly Meichle + Mohr Marina, and would then not be able to be experienced by the fans in Langenargen. The races could only be held far outside which is not an option for the organizers from Match Center Germany in view of their typical streams of visitors.
“If you add the currently again increasing planning uncertainties and possibly again growing Corona requirements for the autumn, which also occupy our very loyal partners, then you can only come to one reasonable conclusion: we sadly have to postpone the 23rd Match Race Germany,” says Thierer with a heavy heart. As organizers, Harald Thierer, sports director and founder Eberhard Magg, the team from Match Center Germany and the hosting Yacht Club Langenargen postpone their Grand Prix with heavy hearts.
“The memories of the last Match Race Germany 2019 in front of a full house are still very vivid” added Eberhard Magg. “We would love nothing more than to finally get the event going again. The rousing victory of the New Zealanders around helmsman Nick Egnot-Johnson, the exuberant atmosphere in the harbour, the joy of sailing and the joint celebration ashore are unforgettable. On the other hand, we are not a team for doing things halfway. We firmly believe that the conditions in May 2023 will finally provide us all with a much better stage for the comeback!”
The World Match Racing Tour, under whose umbrella Match Race Germany is one of the oldest and most prestigious events, has been forced to miss out on the German classic once again in its comeback season after a series of Corona-related cancellations last year. “As organizers of the World Match Racing Tour, we are sorry that one of our flagship events cannot take place this year due to the exceptional weather phenomenon and other circumstances’ commented Tour Executive Director James Pleasance. “We appreciate all the hard work Eberhard, Harald and their team have and continue to invest in Match Race Germany and we are very much looking forward to returning to Lake Constance and Match Race Germany next year.”
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www.match-center.de