by Clinton Hayes
With the recent proposal by World Sailing for a 2v2 event in the Olympics, team racing seems to be having a moment. From Optis to Grandmaster racing, there’s opportunity for everyone to get involved with this growing discipline. Below, we highlight some of the many great team racing events across different age groups and types of boats.
Opti Events (under 15 years old)
Many young sailors’ team racing journeys start in the Opti class. Here, the discipline isn’t usually the main event as much as a fun add-on to large fleet racing regattas. Most of these are sailed in the 4v4 format and allow substitutes so more kids can get involved. Large international events like the World Championships generally have a team race component along with top domestic regattas such as Team Racing Nationals and Midwinters.
Youth Events (High School to College age)
For many racers, team racing becomes more of a focus during the high school and college years. This is where you make the transition into the classic 3v3 racing format in doublehanded dinghies. Top events for this age group include:
- CJ Buckley Regatta – THE EVENT OF THE YEAR! An open club 420 event brings the country’s top U19s together and serves at the classes team racing national championship. A Swiss league format pairs similar skilled teams against each other more often, keeping the competition exciting and fair for everyone.
- High School National Championship – Just won this year by the Antilles School from the USVI.
- College National Championship – One of the hardest to win events in the US. College Team Racing is extremely competitive. Recently, live coverage at this event has been very high quality and fun to watch! This year wasn’t quite as good due to the continued COVID recovery but check out great coverage from past years on the ICSA and Laser Performance YouTube channels.
Open Team Racing
Open team race events are enjoyed by racers all over the world and are (roughly) broken down into two main categories:
- Dinghy Team Racing
- Keelboat Team Racing
Dinghy Team Racing
Dinghy team races are generally sailed in light doublehanded boats such as 420s, FJs, Fireflies, and V15s in the classic 3v3 format. It’s fast, athletic, and rewards strong knowledge and execution of team racing tactics around the course. This is the type of team racing done at World Championships and U.S. Team Racing Championship. Another advantage is that entry at most races is extremely unrestricted so you don’t have to be a yacht club member to join in on the fun. Event highlights are below but click here for the full schedule.
- US Events
- Midwinters – Sailed in Florida over new years and most recently at Eckerd college. There’s no better way to ring in the new year!
- Charles River Open Team Race – An ultra-classic event that once broke the world record with 54 teams. Hosted by MIT in the Swiss League format and many varieties of boats, even catboats in the finals one year!
- Oyster Team Race – A relatively new event by Roger Williams University. Used by many teams as a tune-up for the Hinman. Enjoy oysters after sailing!
- U.S. Team Racing Championship – Known as the Hinman Trophy this has historically been one of the most, if not the most, competitive team racing events in the world. The Hinman serves as the World Championship qualifier with many champions winning both events. Check out some great coverage from 2018 in Cleveland.
- Wilson trophy – THE event that every team racer must attend at least once in their lives. The Wilson draws 30+ teams every year to the small town of West Kirby, United Kingdom for three days of fast, action packed racing in firefly dinghies. It’s sailed on an old, non-tidal World War 2 seaplane landing strip so the water is kept perfectly flat and wind just the right amount of shifty. Perhaps more famous, the Wilson is notorious for off the water activities capped by the Saturday night formal dinner and live band. More than one team have missed the 8am first warning Sunday morning and sailed in their jacket and tie from the night before!
- World Championships – Last sailed in 2015 on Rutland Lake in the UK, the US has been dominant winning 6 of the 10 times it’s been contested since 1995.
Keelboat Team Racing
By far the fastest growing sector in team racing. Yacht clubs around the world have purchased identical fleets of 20-30 foot, 3-5 person keelboats. This push has accelerated younger membership at traditionally “old school” yacht clubs and enabled more racers across a wider age and skill range to get involved with team racing. There are many events on the calendar. so I’ll highlight a few of my favorites here.
- Baldwin Cup – Hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in California. This is most racers favorite event. Sailed in harbor 20s in the not so traditional 4v4 format it’s a little different but in a good way. Most clubs show up with their top talent for three days of close racing with so many volunteers that you don’t even have to rig boats! Off the water highlights include 25 cent beverages, lawn games, and NHYCs famous Mai Tais.
- Morgan Cup – The Morgan is the top event on the keelboat team racing circuit with invites limited to the winners of other top events and a few by resume. Most clubs spend substantial time practicing and generally bring the very best from their club. The Morgan is hosted by New York Yacht Club and raced 3v3 with kites in Sonars.
- Lee Trophy – Like the Morgan, The Lee Trophy is sailed in Sonars with kites 3v3. Seawanhaka Yacht Club rolls out the red carpet for this annual mid-October event with tight racing on the water and fun off the water activities back on land.
- Soiland Cup – A unique event hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans in their fleet of Flying Scots. Beyond the great racing, Southern treats competitors to endless amounts of char-grilled oysters with all the live music and nighttime activity that downtown New Orleans has to offer!
- Cumberland Cup – The Cumberland is a unique biannual event hosted by Royal Thames Yacht Club just outside of London. The event dates back to 1912 and is now sailed in the 2v2 format with kites.
Keelboat team racing events are popping up everywhere. Check out the full schedule on US Sailing’s team racing calendar here.
Master and Grandmaster Team Racing
Master (45+) and Grandmaster (60+) team racing is taking off as younger team racers have started to age into this category. Event highlights include the Hinman Masters, NYYC Grandmasters, and the Newport Harbor Palmer Trophy among others.
Women’s Team Racing
Women’s team races have become more popular with college sailing adding a women’s team racing national championship starting in 2022. Two new events launched just this year, the NYYC Women’s 2v2 and the Thayer Trophy hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead. Both events are going to be sailed in Sonars with Spinnakers. American Yacht Club has also been hosting an event since 2012. Be sure to check out Amanda Callahan’s article on growth of the women’s team race circuit in this June Issue of The One Design Line!
About the author: Clinton Hayes is the Chairman of US Sailing’s One Design Committee.
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