High spirits for Sailing World Cup Final

Sailing World Cup Melbourne © Jeff Crow / Sport the Library

With close to 50 days until the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final commences, from the 4–11 December 2016, competitors are encouraged to register and confirm their spot for the first and ultimate Sailing World Cup event in the Southern Hemisphere.

As an added to bonus to being part of such an established event, World Sailing has revealed that sailors who attend this year's Sailing World Cup Final in Melbourne will automatically qualify for the 2017 series.

Further developing on the 2015 regatta, the Event will have a festival like atmosphere including DJs, food vans and twilight entertainment the Sailing World Cup Final will be the sport- lover's extravaganza of what Australia has to offer. Additionally, this year's event boasts $200 000 in prize money for competitors, stadium style racing in the 'sporting capital of the world' and a ticket to the 2017 Sailing World Cup series.

Befitting the status of this Sailing World Cup Final many of the newly crowned Rio medallists will be heading 'down-under', including:

• Laser Standard Gold Medallist, Tom Burton (AUS)
• Laser Radial, Gold Medallist, Marit Bouwmeester (NED)
• Laser Standard, Silver Medallist, Tonci Stipanovic (CRO)
• Finn, Bronze Medallist, Caleb Paine (USA)
• 470 M Silver Medallist, Matt Belcher and Will Ryan (AUS)
• Nacra 17, Silver Medallist, Lisa Darmanin (AUS)

In addition to having Olympic sailing heroes attend this event, World Sailing have most recently announced that the IKA Formula Kite (foil) will join the Sailing World Cup Final as one of the Olympic Classes. This, along with a stringent qualification process provides 20 of the class's best athletes a chance to vie for their share of the prize money and begins the next step for the journey to Tokyo 2020. Read the full announcement here.

Despite this being the final event of the 2015/16 Sailing World Cup Series, it sparks the beginning of the new Olympic cycle for some. The road to Tokyo 2020 begins here with many of the youth sailors, who are registered for the Invited Classes regatta (run parallel to the Olympic event), using this event as a prelude to the Youth Sailing World Championships.

"It's quite rare to have the top pedigree sailors in the youth and Olympic worlds competing side by side," said Event Director and Sydney 2000 Gold Medallist, Mark Turnbull. He continued:

"This event provides an opportunity for our youth sailors to compete and mingle with their Olympic heroes. With the location being in the heart of St Kilda, it's also a great way to have the tens of thousands of people who walk through the St Kilda Sailing Precinct to feel like they're part of action."

With less than two months until the first warning signal sounds and over 34 nations already registered, now is the perfect opportunity to secure one of the last remaining places in the Olympic Classes at the Sailing World Cup Final. To request an entry please click here. For those who've missed their chance in the Olympic Classes, event organisers are opening the Invited Class entries to those Laser Standard, Laser Radial, 49er FX (Open) sailors who did not make the top 20 cut off. This means if someone drops out from the top 20, a place may become available for the next registered athlete(s).

For all information regarding the Sailing World Cup Final including the Invited Classes regatta visit the event website, www.sailingworldcupmelbourne.com. To keep up with all things social follow the event on Facebook, www.facebook.com/ISAFSWCMelbourne.