— Photo by Jim Collins ©
Young sailors will take to Newport Beach waters next week in one of the oldest and most prestigious youth match racing regattas in the world.
The 53rd Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship is set to get underway Monday (and run through next Saturday) at the Balboa Yacht Club.
The GovCup, hosted by BYC and presented by Disc Sports and Spine Center, is for skippers and crews under age 23.
The event will open with the “meet the skippers” dinner on Monday.
The racing then begins with a double round-robin series from Tuesday through Thursday with the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals on July 19, and the finals to be held on July 20.
Racing will be sailed in the Balboa Yacht Clubs’ fleet of identical GovsCup 22 sloops.
Officials explained in a recent press release that the quality of this year’s skippers is likely to result in the granting of “Grade 1” status by World Sailing for the second consecutive year. Last year’s organizers believe the 2018 Grade 1 designation was the first ever for an age-limited event, with that grading normally reserved for regattas dominated by professional sailors.
Ten skippers from six countries were named by BYC based on resumes, but the last two spots were both decided based on the results of the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup held June 28-30 in San Diego.
Cameron Feves of Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in Los Angeles won the Rose Cup and received the automatic invitation extended to the winner. David Wood of Balboa Yacht Club finished third and won the host club invitation.
Follow the Governor’s Cup Facebook page for live streaming of the opening dinner, pre race shows, and the semi-finals and finals
For more information, visit govcupracing.com
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