SSL Commentator, author and close friend, Louay Habib wrote about the 90th edition of the Bacardi Cup and the involvement of the Star Sailors League in a long and very detailed article on the prestigious American magazine The Virginia Sportsman. Here’s an extract of it.
“Sailing is a technical sport and with literally hundreds of different types of racing boats, it is difficult to pick out one class that is the king of them all. The America’s Cup is considered to be the zenith of short-course, inshore yacht racing. However, the move to superfast flying multihulls has to some degree removed most of the tactical elements and left speed as the key ingredient to winning the world’s oldest sporting trophy. For sailors who enjoy more technical competition, the Star Class is rising.
With more than 2,200 members and fleets in 38 countries, Star Class championship events are hosted at venues around the globe. At a Star Class regatta, you will find Olympic and world champions competing alongside sailors of all ages and skill levels eager to sail at the highest level of the sport. Ask any experienced yacht racer where the Star Class fits into the myriad of sailing classes and most would rank the one-design keel boat as one of the most tactical, strategic and competitive kinds of yacht racing in the world.
The Star was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1932, and remained the two-man keel boat for the Games until 2012. It was with some controversy that the Star was dropped from the 2016 Rio Games. Meantime, a group of Star Sailors formed the Star Sailors League where teams race for big prize money and in a new style of racing format. Led by a group of very passionate Star sailors, Star Sailors League events have a prize purse ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 and the final rounds are decided by sudden-death knockout races. High drama and the latest in media technology has resulted in the Star Sailors League reaching more than 100,000 live viewers watching the action unfold for free on the internet. The Star Sailors League provides world class media coverage, including Virtual Eye 3D computer graphics and gyro-stabilized cameras, together with expert commentary from studio guests and reporters on the water.
The latest addition to the Star Sailors League stable of events is the Bacardi Cup. It is organized by the International Star Class but without the knockout stages. The 90th edition of the Bacardi Cup was shown worldwide via the internet”.
[…]
“The next Star event to be shown live on the internet will be the Star Sailors League Final Dec. 4-9. The top 12 teams from the Star Sailors League will be joined by 12 wild-card teams from the America’s Cup and Olympics to race for a prize purse of $250,000”.
More info on www.thevirginiasportsman.com
SSL Press Officer since 2015