Match Race Super League adds Match Race Switzerland to the calendar

Albert Riele Swiss Team with skipper Eric Monning, winner of Match Race Super League 2017 and Match Race Germany 2017 © Nico Martinez / Match Race Germany

After a break of several years, a revived Match Race Grand Prix will take place again in Switzerland.

Match Race Switzerland ranks as a new event of the Match Race Super League between renowned events such as Match Race Germany, the Internationaux de France, the Oakcliff International Match Race (USA), or the Kingdom Match Race in Bahrain.

With the return of the America's Cup to monohulls, the exciting sailing duel-discipline, boat against boat, is enjoying strong tailwind again. This boost has also helped the relaunch of match race sailing by the Swiss Sailing League Association. A high-caliber field of participants from seven nations brings enough world ranking points to raise Match Race Switzerland to Grand Prix level. With the partnership between the Swiss Sailing League Association and the Match Race Super League, Switzerland once again belongs to the venues of the Global Series of 17 events spanning over 4 continents.

Eberhard Maag, co-founder of Match Race Super League and Sports Director of Match Race Germany comments: "With Matchrace Switzerland, a country with a lot of tradition in match racing returns to the limelight of high-class dueling on the water. The development of the largest international match race series continues to grow worldwide and our visions are also shared in Switzerland. Welcome on board Match Race Switzerland! "

Eric Monnin and his Albert Riele Swiss Match Race Team will be coming to Locarno as the defending champion of the inaugural season of the Match Race Super League. He is also looking forward to starting again in Switzerland: "In the second year of its existence, the Match Race Super League is experiencing a pleasing development with a strong increase in regattas. The fact that Switzerland is also running a Match Race Super League Level 1 Grand Prix is ??a very gratifying development. We are glad that after a few years of absence, Switzerland has another world-class matchrace. "

But to win on Lake Maggiore, the Swiss team has to prevail over strong international competition. The world number 6, Mati Sepp with Team Estonia, but also the Russian team of skipper Vladimir Lipavsky are both among the co-favourites.

Swiss Women's Match Racing Team with skipper Alexa Bezel - photo © WIM Series

With the Swiss Women's Match Racing Team, under helmswoman Alexa Bezel (ranked 18. in the women's world ranking) and the Italian team of Bianca Crugnola, we are also pleased to have two outstanding women's teams starting in Locarno.

Important for the organizers of the Match Race Switzerland is that also regional teams and junior teams get a starting opportunity. Felix Schrimper, the 21-year-old skipper from Constance/Germany, who has shown his talent in both the German Sailing League and international match races, will benefit from this policy.

In the wake of the Swiss Grand Prix, further match race regattas and a Swiss Sailing Match Race series are to be created in Switzerland, which will enable young teams to gain experience in the competition and qualify for a starting slot at Match Race Switzerland and eaqually will recommend the team for Match Race Super League events. Young ambitious sailing teams will have a perspective from the start into match racing to the top of the world!

One of those who made it is Eric Monnin: "I think that the 'classic' match race is still the best school for good teamwork and, thanks to the relatively simple infrastructure, will remain attractive to young sailors."

Match Race Switzerland 2018 Competitors:

1 Mati Sepp (Team Estonia EST)
2 Max Trippolt (Team Segelmanufaktur Trippolt AUT)
3 Eric Monnin (Albert Riele Swiss Team SUI)
4 Vladimir Lipavsky (Ost Legal Sailing RUS)
5 Szymon Jablkowski (Jablkowski Sailing Team POL)
6 Rocco Attili (ITA)
7 Nelson Mettraux (Geneva Match Race Team SUI)
8 Bianca Crugnola (ITA)
9 Mathias Rebholz (Team Up! GER)
10 Alexa Bezel (Swiss Women Match Racing Team SUI)
11 Felix Schrimper (Innotio Match Race Team II GER)
12 Alain Stettler (Team Stettler SUI)