New locations for the Swedish Match Tour

Grand prix match racing to head for Malaysia and Brazil over the 2005-66 season

Three new events in diverse locations and the circuit's 50th event highlight an active 2005-’06 schedule for the Swedish Match Tour, the seventh season of the professional match racing tour.

The new events are the St. Moritz Match Race, the Monsoon Cup and the Brazil Match Cup, bringing the Swedish Match Tour to venues in Switzerland, Malaysia and Brazil, respectively, for the first time. They combine for $275,000 in prize money.

“We’re very excited about adding St. Moritz, Brazil and Malaysia to the schedule,” said Scott MacLeod, Director of the Swedish Match Tour. “The new schedule shows the strength of the Tour and its marketing and television package around the world. Events want to be part of the Tour because of the global exposure they receive.”

A total of nine stages with prize money in excess of $825,000 comprise the seventh Tour, which will visit nine different countries. A BMW X3 3.0i, valued at 45,000€ from Tour partner BMW also awaits the champion.

The schedule includes four events that have been part of every Swedish Match Tour schedule. They are the Danish Open, ACI H1 Match Race Cup, Match Race Germany and the Swedish Match Cup.

The Toscana Elba Cup-Trofeo Locman is set to make its third appearance next year, and the PTPortugal Match Cup recently made its second appearance (July 19-24) as the first event of the season. The six veteran events combine for $459,000 in prize money.

With venues located in Switzerland and Malaysia, Sweden and South America, the Tour has never been more diverse. It offers drastically different sailing conditions from venue to venue and gives sailors an opportunity to prove their consistency.

“The Swedish Match Tour is a great way to improve your racing skills,” said Dean Barker (NZL), helmsman for Emirates Team New Zealand, a challenger syndicate for the America’s Cup. “The boats are even so it comes down to positioning, and the results are instantaneous. If you make a mistake, you lose a lot. In Cup boats you can make a mistake and get away with it.”

The seventh season began two weeks ago with Peter Holmberg (ISV), of Alinghi, winning the PTPortugal Match Cup.

It resumes next week with Stage 2, the 9th annual Danish Open (Aug. 10-14) at the Royal Match Race Center in Skovshoved, Denmark. The Danish Open has increased its prize purse to DKK 375,000 (approximately $61,000).

Stage 3, the St. Moritz Match Race (17-21 Aug), is the first of three consecutive new events on the schedule. Racing at the top of the world on Lake St. Moritz (at an elevation of 5,624 feet above sea level), the event is held in Streamline 7.15 (23ft LOA) twin trapeze boats. The SFr 150,000 purse (approximately $117,000) awards SFr 36,000 (approximately $28,000) to its champion.

The end of November sees the second new event, the Monsoon Cup (29 Nov-4 Dec, 2005) in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The MYR 400,000 (approximately $105,000) event will be sailed in Foundation 36s, designed by New Zealander Brett Bakewell-White.

The Monsoon Cup, hosted by the Terengganu Heritage Bay Club on the East Coast of Malaysia, will celebrate more than its inauguration. It marks the 50th event of the Swedish Match Tour.

The second half of the Tour schedule, slated for 2006, features the third new event on the Tour, the Brazil Match Cup (7-12 March, 2006) in Angra dos Reis, Brazil. Hosted by the Angra dos Reis Yacht Club west of Rio de Janeiro, it will be raced in the Swedish Match 40. The $150,000 prize purse has $50,000 earmarked for the champion.

“Adding new events injects new life into the Tour, and this year we’ve got three diverse ones,” said MacLeod. “We’re in discussions with other events to join the 2006-’07 schedule and possibly beyond.”

Four more veteran events wrap up the season: The ACI H1 Match Race Cup (23-28 May, 2006) will host its 20th anniversary event in Split, Croatia. The 10th annual Match Race Germany (1-5 June, 2006), in Langenargen, keeps with its tradition of finishing on the Whit Monday holiday. Last year it drew an estimated 40,000 fans over a four-day period.

The Toscana Elba Cup-Trofeo Locman (27 June-2 July, 2006) has been moved from early May, and is followed immediately by the Swedish Match Cup (4-9 July, 2006). The season-concluder drew an estimated 110,000 fans this year.

Two events that were part of the 2004-’05 schedule aren’t included in the new schedule. Organisers of the Nippon Cup at the Hayama Marina Yacht Club have been unable to secure a replacement title sponsor. The Bermuda Gold Cup has been dropped due to contractual differences.

Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match and BMW. Swedish Match Tour Official Sponsors include Musto, Sebago and Travel Places.