Risor SC crowned Norwegian J/70 League Champion

Norwegian J/70 Sailing League 2018 © Norwegian Sailing League 2018 - Trond Teigen

The fourth and final act of the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League took place off the picturesque harbor of Arendal, Norway. Winning the final event was Asgardstrand Sailing Club. However, it was Risor Sailing Club's consistency through all four events (Bodo- 4th, Molde- 1st, Larvik- 2nd, Arendal- 3rd) that enabled them to finish the last regatta in third place and handily clinch the season championship for the Norwegian League with just 10 pts total. Their crew for the finale included Mads and Tomas Mathisen, Morten Røisland and Regine Tronstad.

In the Arendal regatta, Åsgårdstrand Sailing Association (with Jostein Grødem, Karl Otto Book, Trym Markussen and Lena Louise Vinje-Christensen on board) nearly ran the table on the fleet, posting seven 1sts and three 2nds in ten races to easily win the event. Their performance vaulted them up the season standings into 5th place. Brevik Sailing Club's second place enabled them to breathe a sigh of relief, earning them the silver medal for the season championship. Finally, RAN Sailing Club's 5th place enabled them to hold onto the bronze medal on the podium for the season.

"There is no doubt that the level in the elite series has increased tremendously this season. It is no longer possible to come with an inexperienced crew or to trust in a good helmsman. In order to have a good team, you have to be focused on the competition in the sailing sport league, the teams get better every year, it is incredibly competitive," said Magnus Hedemark, who is Project Manager for the Norwegian Seilsports League.

Like the other rounds of the sailing sport league, the finals in Arendal were also transferred directly to Facebook. Magne Klann and Thomas Nilsson conveyed what they observed with photos, videos, and the SAP SAILING graphics.

"We had four times as many viewers on our Facebook page than the average in the previous rounds. One of the reasons is, of course, that it was the final round. But, the interest has been increasing. Not least because the associations and sailors participating have been good at sharing on Facebook. We have now become a "community" that works very well," said Hedemark, who hopes to be able to professionalize the sailing sport league further next year.

"The goal is to be the leader and an example of how the sport of league sailing can be communicated and displayed in Norway," he said.

"There is such strong interest in the Norwegian J/70 League that an additional half-dozen sailing clubs have requested to participate. As a result, after the season this year, we will sell this year's five league boats to interested associations and we have received several inquiries from associations interested in buying, which indicates that both interest and ambitions are growing around sailing Norway," said Hedemark. "For next year's sailing season there will be five new J/70s that will be added to our fleet!"

Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League at facebook.com/seilsportsliga. For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information see www.seilsportsliga.no/index.php/nb-no