Media

Bermuda Gold Cup

Wednesday, 01 October 2003

AndyGMonaco

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Shawn McBride, +1 203-352-6323; shawn.mcbride@octagon.com UNSEEDED SKIPPERS ANNOUNCED FOR INVESTORS GUARANTY? PRESENTATION OF THE KING EDWARD VII GOLD CUP STAMFORD, CT, USA (September 23, 2003) ˆ Organizers of the Investors Guaranty? Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the second event on Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004, have announced the unseeded skippers who will compete in a three-day round robin qualifier October 18-20. The unique format of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, sailed in Bermuda‚s famous International One Design sloops, includes this Grade 3 qualifying event with the top six skippers advancing to round one of the Tournament of the Investors Guaranty? Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup to face the eight seeded skippers along with the winner and runner-up of the Bermuda International Women‚s Match Race Championship. The winner of the King Edward VII Gold Cup will be presented with the King Edward VII Trophy and $30,000 share of the $100,000 prize purse. Competition in the qualifying event will be fierce with two of the skippers ranked in the top 10 on the Swedish Match Tour, including No 1 Magnus Holmberg of Sweden, who sailed with Victory Challenge, the Swedish America‚s Cup team and No. 5 Kelvin Harrap of New Zealand, who sailed with OneWorld Challenge. They will be joined by former America‚s Cup winner and recently crowned ISAF match racing champion Ed Baird of the United States; Olympic Soling bronze medallist and helmsman for Mascalzone Latino Paolo Cian of Italy and 1999 Gold Cup champion Andy Green, a former member of the GBR Challenge afterguard. Other 2003 America‚s Cup sailors participating are Team New Zealand‚s Cameron Appleton and Oracle BMW Racing‚s Cameron Dunn. Rounding out the roster is Kiwi Scott Dickson, a resident of Long Beach, Calif. in the United States; Mattias Rahm of Sweden; Staffan Lindberg of Finland, Bill Hardesty of the United States, Maxim Taranov of Russia, Matthew Gregory of the United States and Bermuda‚s Peter Bromby. "With its 32-skipper format and qualifying events, the King Edward VII Gold Cup is one of the few regattas in the world to offer amateur skippers and up-and-comers a chance to match race against the professionals," said Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Les Crane. "This unseeded skipper group is the strongest line-up we‚ve seen in the history of the event." Title sponsor is Investors Guaranty?. The event is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Renaissance Reinsurance is the Presenting Sponsor. Primary Sponsors are Bacardi, Colorcraft, Continental Airlines, Coral Beach and Tennis Club, Horizons Resort, Oleander Cycles, Omega, the Waterloo House and Wedgwood . For more information about the Investors Guaranty? presentation of The King Edward VII Gold Cup, contact the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club race office at +1-441-295-2214 or visit www.KingEdwardVIIGoldCup.com. For all the latest news from the Swedish Match Tour visit www.swedishmatchtour.com . About the Swedish Match Tour · The Swedish Match Tour is comprised of eight of the world's leading professional sailing events and is proving to be the ultimate battleground of sailing. · In addition to more than US$800,000 in individual event prize money, the Swedish Match Tour awards US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Swedish Match Tour, with the first-place skipper netting US$60,000. · In addition to a US$60,000 first prize, the winner of the Swedish Match Tour receives the official Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, 15" (30 cm) high with 22 carat gold gilding, produced by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood. Additionally, Wedgwood supplies runner-up prizes for second and third places as well as commemorative plaques to each event organizer. · The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television coverage reaching more than 426 million households worldwide annually. · Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, Octagon and the Match Race Association. · Swedish Match Tour sponsors include Colorcraft, Champagne Mumm, Musto, Selden and Wedgwood. STAMFORD, CT, USA (September 23, 2003) ˆ Organizers of the Investors Guaranty? Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the second event on Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004, have announced the unseeded skippers who will compete in a three-day round robin qualifier October 18-20. The unique format of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, sailed in Bermuda‚s famous International One Design sloops, includes this Grade 3 qualifying event with the top six skippers advancing to round one of the Tournament of the Investors Guaranty? Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup to face the eight seeded skippers along with the winner and runner-up of the Bermuda International Women‚s Match Race Championship. The winner of the King Edward VII Gold Cup will be presented with the King Edward VII Trophy and $30,000 share of the $100,000 prize purse. Competition in the qualifying event will be fierce with two of the skippers ranked in the top 10 on the Swedish Match Tour, including No 1 Magnus Holmberg of Sweden, who sailed with Victory Challenge, the Swedish America‚s Cup team and No. 5 Kelvin Harrap of New Zealand, who sailed with OneWorld Challenge. They will be joined by former America‚s Cup winner and recently crowned ISAF match racing champion Ed Baird of the United States; Olympic Soling bronze medallist and helmsman for Mascalzone Latino Paolo Cian of Italy and 1999 Gold Cup champion Andy Green, a former member of the GBR Challenge afterguard. Other 2003 America‚s Cup sailors participating are Team New Zealand‚s Cameron Appleton and Oracle BMW Racing‚s Cameron Dunn. Rounding out the roster is Kiwi Scott Dickson, a resident of Long Beach, Calif. in the United States; Mattias Rahm of Sweden; Staffan Lindberg of Finland, Bill Hardesty of the United States, Maxim Taranov of Russia, Matthew Gregory of the United States and Bermuda‚s Peter Bromby. "With its 32-skipper format and qualifying events, the King Edward VII Gold Cup is one of the few regattas in the world to offer amateur skippers and up-and-comers a chance to match race against the professionals," said Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Commodore Les Crane. "This unseeded skipper group is the strongest line-up we‚ve seen in the history of the event." Title sponsor is Investors Guaranty?. The event is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Renaissance Reinsurance is the Presenting Sponsor. Primary Sponsors are Bacardi, Colorcraft, Continental Airlines, Coral Beach and Tennis Club, Horizons Resort, Oleander Cycles, Omega, the Waterloo House and Wedgwood . For more information about the Investors Guaranty? presentation of The King Edward VII Gold Cup, contact the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club race office at +1-441-295-2214 or visit www.KingEdwardVIIGoldCup.com. For all the latest news from the Swedish Match Tour visit www.swedishmatchtour.com .