Photography by RNZYS
13 August 2019
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The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) has announced that the club will be hosting the first ever New Zealand Foiling Match Racing Championships from the 13 to 17 January 2020.
Racing will be completed in the Squadrons two Nacra 20 foiling catamarans with racing to be held on the water outside the RNZYS.
There are eight spots up for grabs to take part in the inaugural event and the club has thrown open expressions of interest. The format for the event will include a round robin, 3rd-7th repecharge, 7th & 8th sail off, semifinals, and then the final.
The Squadron will be holding an international foiling camp prior to the event, from January 6 to 10, with all travelling international teams encouraged to sign up for this to get some quality practice in before the championships the following week.
With the success of foiling on world sailing tours, America’s Cup, Sail GP, and other sailing disciplines, the Squadron is keen to encourage more sailors to get onto the foils in a match racing format.
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RNZYS Sailing Director Laurie Jury is proud to bring this new initiative to the RNZYS and New Zealand sailing calendar, and is looking forward to what will be a high paced and exciting event.
“This is a great opportunity for upcoming sailors to test themselves on these high performance foiling boats, with the boats being provided by the RNZYS it creates a level playing field and will give a great pathway to events such as the Youth America Cup.”
“I also really hope to see some of the more experienced names in professional sailing taking up the chance to get back to basics and race in this event.”
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