It all started with a group of athletes, who after the 2012 Olympics, together developed and launched the global inshore sailing circuit known as the Stars Sailors League. The conviction behind the event is to highlight the sailors as the stars rather than the boats. The global inshore sailing circuit launched by Olympic athletes in 2012. Supported by sailing stars like Loïck Peyron and Dennis Conner (SSL honorary chairman), the SSL has been recognised as a "special event" by World Sailing since 2017. Its main philosophy considers the athletes (not the boats) as the "Stars".
The structure of the SSL is based on the same principles introduced by the Association of the Tennis Professionals ranking system. It simply includes three main concepts:
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There has to be a ranking. We have developed and are continuously upgrading our database and ranking system.
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It must consist of four Grand Slams each with different conditions. The first event was hosted at the SSL base in Grandson (SUI) on a lake in 2015; following this, we hosted the City Grand Slam in Hamburg (GER) in 2016. We then hosted our third Grand Slam during the Bacardi Cup in 2017 which followed our last Grand Slam in 2019.
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A final must take place which takes the best ranked teams. In 2023 we hosted The Grand Final in Gran Canaria (ESP) which took place over multiple weeks and included the best ranked teams.
The Star Sailors League is only in its early days. This brief look into the history of the SSL is indicative of the budding future that lies ahead for the organisation. The growth of the Star Sailor League has been exponential. The SSL team cannot wait to show you what the future holds…