BRICS Sailing Championship 2026 Day 1
by Olga Zvyagina 5 Sep 10:05 BST
3-6 September 2026
On September 4, the Republic of Belarus hosted the start of a major international sporting event - the regatta of the third stage of the Tenzor Elite Cup Series, joined with 2026 BRICS Sailing Championship program.
The large scale competition brought together over 60 participants - top level sailors and an international jury of judges from Russia, India, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan.
The opening ceremony at the Sailing Centre was filled with a true atmosphere of unity and friendship, blending sport and the cultural traditions of the participating countries.
Inessa Tarasova, Director of marketing and development of Tenzor Sailing Club, spoke on behalf of the organizers: "The event opens new horizons and expands international relations. It is especially pleasing that the competition is being held at the wonderful venue of the Minsk Sea. The number of participants and the representation of countries are growing, and we are particularly delighted to see teams from distant countries like India here. The yacht club has been uniting professional and amateur sailors for more than five years, with the promotion of sailing on a global level as its top priority".
Honored guests welcomed the sailors and highlighted the project's important mission. Among them were Alexey Maskalev, Senior Counselor of Russian Embassy in the Republic of Belarus; Olga Shpilevskaya, Chairperson of Belarus Union of Women; and Pavel Sobolev, Executive Director of Russian Sailing Federation.
"We are very glad that this event is being held on our hospitable soil. I am also confident that a woman will definitely win these competitions. I wish everyone fair winds, and please come back to Belarus as often as possible," noted Olga Shpilevskaya.
The first racing day of the regatta proved to be truly competitive. The race committee held 5 races in various wind and weather conditions.
The start was given with wind gusts up to 21 knots, waves of 0.3-0.4 m, and drizzling rain. However, the crews showed that they could handle any surprises from the nature. From the very first meters of the course, the battle was extremely tight. Despite the wind shifts, the best results were demonstrated by Ptichki Sailing Team skippered by Elvira Pinchuk - the winners of the 2025 BRICS Sailing Championship.
By the second race, the wind stabilized a bit to a south west direction at 10-14 knots. The conditions became more predictable, but the standings kept shifting constantly. One race win went to Yacht Club Pirogovo of Alexander Bozhko, who lucky caught the wind shift. Ptichki Sailing Team finished again among leaders - in second place, while Tenzor Team of Andrey Pushkin, with a crew from Russia and Belarus, came third.
After that, tactical duels unfolded on the course - the participants were catching gusts and picking the advantageous sides. Any mistake costs teams several positions in the leaderboard. All competitors tried to take the best position on the start line in the fourth race, leading to a mass general recall. Eventually, a clean start with Uniform flag was given on the second attempt.
The final races pushed Skolkovo Sailing Team 3 helmed by Sergey Doronin into the top 5, following Tenzor Team and Bars Sailing Team of Maxim Batrakov.
The teams from India found it challenging to keep up the high race speed. According to the sailors, the cold wind and rain became a real challenge for residents of the subtropics.
Sandeep Mhatre commented that the racing conditions were really perfect with good wind 22-24 knots and strong fleet.
"We managed to sail well despite it was too cold to handle races. This time we for the first time sailing this type of boat, but we are doing our best and enjoy racing. Thanks to organizers and teams for support", - said Mhatre.
Two more racing days are still to pass in race program featuring exciting races and a business agenda on important topics of international cooperation and the development of sailing in the BRICS+ countries!
Results after Day 1: (top ten, 5 races)
1. Ptichki Sailing Team 5pts
2. W Sailing Team 9pts
3. Bars Sailing Team 13pts
4. Tenzor Team 14pts
5. Skolkovo Sailing Team 3 16pts
6. Yacht Club Pirogovo 20pts
7. Butter Sailing Team 22pts
8. NOVASAIL Team 31pts
9. Tornado 34pts
10. Team India 41pts
11. LITMUS7 Team 42pts