WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR AMENDS 2020 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT
London, UK (7 August 2020) – Organisers of the World Match Racing Tour have announced there will not be a World Tour leader-board for 2020 due to current travel restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic preventing many competitors from attending events. The World Tour still plans to award the 2020 Match Racing World Championship with an updated format to be announced after 31 August.
The change to the 2020 format amends the previously published format with skippers accumulating points from events to the WMRT leader-board, and the Match Racing World Championship being awarded to the skipper with the highest points at the end of the season, counting their best three results plus the final event.
One of the main reasons for the amendment to the format is to ensure the world championship remains fair and open for skippers and teams, as WMRT Executive Director James Pleasance explains,
‘As well as our primary concern for the safety of competitors and event organisers on the Tour during this pandemic, events also need to be accessible by teams, particularly when points count towards the world championship.’
Despite not having a Tour leader-board for this year, there is still the opportunity to award the 2020 Match Racing World Championship which Pleasance is keen to make happen;
‘We certainly want to award a meaningful and credible world championship for 2020. We are considering the option to host a single event championship, as well as ensuring a safe organisation of the event itself. We plan to update competitors by the beginning of September.’
In the meantime, scheduling for the 2021 World Match Racing Tour is well underway including new event announcements and separate plans for a World Match Racing Tour Academy aimed at introducing sailors to the discipline of match racing and opportunities to compete at local and international events.
ABOUT THE 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 World Tour represents a series of independently organised and officially sanctioned match racing events. Teams accumulate points from each of the events towards an overall WMRT global ranking, the top twelve teams from which compete in the WMRT Championship Finals at the end of the season.
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 Bertrand Pace (FRA), Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Jesper Radich (DEN), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Taylor Canfield (ISV), Phil Robertson (NZL) and Torvar Mirsky (AUS).
The WMRT is a match racing competition with racing taking place in identically supplied racing yachts which change for each event and which place a firm focus on teamwork, strategy and skill. Racing takes place close to shore to create stadium-style viewing for spectators.
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