 |
SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
OVERVIEW
The Swedish Match Tour was formed in 2000 to unite the world’s best match-race regattas under one banner. The goal was to create more international coverage for the events and interest throughout the season by crowning an overall Tour champion at the end of the year.
Through its first five years the Swedish Match Tour has become a proving ground for experienced match-race teams, America’s Cup teams and up-and-coming stars of the match-racing discipline.
Match-racing is a discipline of sailing that pits two crews against each other, one-on-one, on a short racecourse. The short course means that the races are quick, and it places an emphasis on boathandling, and knowledge of tactics and rules. Mastery of these critical areas of racing leads to great success no matter what discipline of the sport.
The fields for each event usually number between 10 and 12 crews, although some events have up to 16 crews competing. Skippers receive invitations to the events based on their Swedish Match Tour standing and their world ranking. Each event’s format consists of one or a series of round robins. The rounds help whittle the field to either quarterfinalists or semifinalists (depending on event format), and then the finalists. The latter rounds are usually knockout series, where the first to 2, 3 or 5 wins advances or is the champion.
The 2004-’05 Swedish Match Tour comprises nine events in nine different countries. Whether on Sweden’s unique vacation island of Marstrand, on the Portuguese Riviera or under the backdrop of the Swiss and Austrian Alps, each venue is unique in its own right.
Competitors earn points toward the Tour championship by placing in the top eight at each regatta. With nine events on the 2004-’05 schedule a skipper’s seven-best finishes will count toward the championship, but only if he competes in at least seven events.
The 2004-’05 Tour championship is worth approximately $145,000. The total is the sum of the $60,000 bonus from the $200,000 purse awarded to the top eight on the final leaderboard by the Swedish Match Tour, and the BMW 545i Touring awarded by Tour Partner BMW.
Swedish Match Tour 2003-’04 champion Peter Gilmour (center), skipper of the Pizza-La Sailing Team, is flanked by Brad Webb (left), of third-placed BMW Oracle Racing, and second-placed Magnus Holmberg, of the SeaLife Rangers.
About the Swedish Match Tour
• The Swedish Match Tour is the leading professional sailing series in the world.
• The Tour offers more than $1 million in overall prize money, with $200,000 divided among the top eight teams in the overall Tour Championship points race.
• The winner of the Tour Championship nets a BMW 545i Touring, a $60,000 bonus and the official Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, produced by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood.
• Swedish Match Tour events take place in venues with virtual on-the-water stadiums, which allow general public spectators to follow the races shoreside.
• The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television coverage reaching more than 426 million households worldwide annually.
• Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, BMW and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Colorcraft, Wedgwood, Musto and Trident Studios.
|
Email this page to a friend
|
