Chicago Match Race Center kicks off 2015 Season with the Spring Invitational
Nine teams bring both experience and enthusiasm to this qualifier for several important future US events
Chicago Match Race Center will kick off its seventh season with an ISAF Grade 3 event featuring nine teams from around the US. The significance of this event is more than just being a season opener: it is a qualifier for three additional events on the 2015 match race calendar. The top-placing eligible skippers will earn invitations to the following: the US Match Racing Championship, hosted by Oakcliff Sailing in October; the Oakcliff International Grade 2 Grand Slam in August; and the YRUGL Richardson Trophy Regatta in October at Sheboygan YC. The top-placing skipper from the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation will also be named the 2015 Lake Michigan Match Racing Champion.
Among the nine teams assembled for this event who come from all over the U.S, top-ranked among them is Don Wilson at 24th-ranked in the world and is the top-ranked US match racer. Another Chicagoan, Steve Lowery, will also be racing as the 4th ranked match racer in the US and 34th in the world. David Niemann from Wisconsin will also be racing, and is ranked 5th in the US and 47th in the world. Peter Holz has been away at college at Hobart, and will be returning to Chicago to race this weekend ranked 11th in the US and 75th in the world.
The remaining field of skippers are relatively new to match racing, but have been proven performers in other forms of competitive sailing. Jack Thompson from Newport Beach, CA has been racing the intercollegiate circuit at College of Charleston. Ryan Seago from Bayview YC in Detroit has been active on the University of Michigan sailing team, while also match racing at Bayview Yacht Club. Evan Jahn from Chicago has recently taken a break from match racing, but not from competitive fleet racing: he has been co-skippering his father Helmut's Flash Gordon in the ultra-competitive Farr 40 class for years. Jack Barton from San Anselmo, CA is a young talent who won the Chubb US Junior Championship in the 2013 season. And Leif Sigmond is a veteran competitor in the T-10 and Farr 40 fleets at the Chicago Yacht Club.
Racing will consist of Round Robin racing, followed by a Knock-out Series and Finals, weather permitting.
Results and more information will be available at www.chicagomatchrace.com/events.
Chicago Match Race Center Regatta 2015 Schedule
May 30-31: Grade 3 - Spring Invitational
June 19-21: Grade 2 - Chicago Match Cup Grand Slam Qualifier
June 23-26: North-U Youth Clinic co-hosted with Chicago YC, coached by Dave Perry
July 23-24: Grade 3 - Summer Invitational A
July 25-26: Grade 3 - Summer Invitational B
August 21-23: Grade 2- Chicago Match Cup Grand Slam
September 26-27: Grade 3 - Autumn Invitational
To request an invitation, contact invites@chicagomatchrace.com or visit the CMRC website: www.chicagomatchrace.com/events
About Chicago Match Race Center:
The Chicago Match Race Center was founded to promote and grow the sport of match race sailing in the United States. CMRC provides a full-service facility, complete with TOM 28 and Elliott 6M class sailboats, umpire and support boats, as well as support staff for professional and amateur sailors to race and train during the sailing season. CMRC hosts numerous events at a wide range of ISAF Grade levels to best suit its members and the broader match racing community. For more information, photos, videos and results from events held at CMRC, please visit www.ChicagoMatchRace.com
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