Prize fight

Top line up expected for October's King Edward VII Gold Cup in Bermuda

15-23 October all eyes will be on the Investors Guaranty presentation of The King Edward VII Gold Cup and the Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship. It's a week and a day of the world's best match race sailing, and it's all happening in Hamilton Bermuda at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Russell Coutts defends his seventh Gold Cup title while Claire LeRoy and the top women match racers sail for their world championship.

Eight top match race sailors (with ISAF Open Ranking) are seeded in the Gold Cup: Ed Baird, #2 (USA), Russell Coutts, #3 (New Zealand), Mathieu Richard, #4 (France), James Spithill, #5 (Australia), Ian Williams, #7 (Great Britain), Staffan Lindberg, #10 (Finland), Gavin Brady, #37 (New Zealand), and Chris Dickson, #45 (New Zealand). They will meet the top six finishers in the Grade 3 Qualifying event plus the Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's Match Racing World Champion and runner-up.

Action begins Saturday, 15 October with the Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship sailed in J24s and the unseeded Grade 3 Gold Cup Qualifying match racing event being sailed in classic IODs. It will be non-stop action straight through to Tuesday when the ISAF prizegiving crowns the women's world champion and racing confirms the top six in the Gold Cup Qualifier.

The King Edward VII Gold Cup Unseeded Skippers (with ISAF Open rankings) include: Eric Monnin, #22, (Switzerland), Scott Dickson, #27 (USA), Takumi Nakamura, #36 (Japan), Karol Jablonski, #44 (Poland), Bill Hardesty, #52 (USA), Rasmus Viltoft, #57 (Denmark), Yasutaka Funazawa, #86 (Japan) Cameron Dunn, #151 (New Zealand), Ian Ainslie, #188 (South Africa), Cameron Appleton, #192 (New Zealand), Alec Cutler, #245 (USA and 2005 Bermuda Match Racing Champion), and Elizabeth Kratzig, #363 (USA).
Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship skippers (with ISAF Women's June 22nd rankings) include the top ranked women skippers in the world today: Claire LeRoy, #1 (France), Marie Bjorling, #2 (Sweden), Nina Braestrup, #3 (Denmark), Jenny Axhede, #4 (Sweden), Klaartje Zuiderbaan, #5, (Netherlands), Christelle Philippe, #7 (France), Linda Rahm, #9, (Sweden), Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, #10 (Denmark), Paula Lewin, #11, (Bermuda and the BSA selection), Betsy Alison, #12 (USA), Nicky Souter #13 (Australia) and Sally Barkow, #17 (USA).

After a practice day on Wednesday for the seeded skippers and for the women' s winners who will transition from J/24s to IODs, the real Gold Cup sailing starts with the eight unseeded skippers facing the daunting challenge of racing against an awesome field of world-class sailing talent in hopes of reaching the finals. All of the Gold Cup skippers have a chance at winning The King Edward VII Gold Cup and a share of the $100,000 purse.