SailGP has confirmed the line-up for Season 3 – starting May 2022 – will have a Canadian team joining the global league. Canada follows Switzerland as the league’s second expansion franchise for next season, expanding the field from eight teams in Season 2 to ten in Season 3.
The franchise of the Canada SailGP Team is owned by businessman and lifelong sailor, Fred Pye. The ethos behind the team will be twofold; to expand the sport in Canada and promote a pathway into high performance sailing in Canada.
“My vision is to create a catalyst for the growth of sailing in Canada that makes a generational impact on our community and provides an aspirational goal for our athletes to represent our country internationally,” said Pye.
“I invested in SailGP because I believe it represents the future of the sport – with its commitment to environmental sustainability, clean-energy, and social impact – and the racing is incredibly entertaining and accessible.”
Canada comes in alongside teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States for Season 3 – spanning 2022-2023 – and expected to comprise ten events.
SailGP was launched in 2018 and is currently in the closing stages of its second season in 2021-22, with events in Sydney and San Francisco remaining before the SailGP Season 2 champion is crowned.
The two new expansion franchises comes at a time when Sir Ben Ainslie has taken the majority ownership of the Great Britain SailGP Team along with ROCKWOOL becoming Team Operators of the Danish Team/
“This is another exciting milestone for our global league,” reports SailGP CEO Russell Coutts. “When we launched in 2018, our intention was to build to ten teams and ten events by Season 5 so I am very pleased that we have been able to accelerate the expansion and achieve this goal two years earlier than expected.
“It really does validate the model we have established for SailGP and is an important step on our journey towards having a truly global league.
“Working with Fred and the Canada team, it is evident that passion and purpose are an intrinsic part of their group and fully aligns with SailGP’s vision. We are excited to welcome the Canada SailGP Team to our championship league and I personally can’t wait to see ten teams on the starting line for Season 3.”
SailGP and the Canada SailGP Team will be exploring fan-friendly inshore sailing locations and suitable host cities across the country to bring the first ever SailGP event to Canada in 2022. Details of the Canada SailGP Team crew have yet to be revealed.
SailGP information – Sydney details – Facebook
How to watch – Results – Noticeboard – Crew lists
SailGP Season Championship (after 6 events)
1. Australia, 45 pts
2. United States, 44 pts
3. Japan, 44 pts
4. Great Britain, 40 pts
5. New Zealand, 36 pts
6. Spain, 35 pts
7. Denmark, 33 pts
8. France, 31 pts
Format for SailGP events:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• There are three races on each day, totaling six races at each event.
• The opening five fleet races involve every team.
• The final match race pits the three highest ranking teams against each other to be crowned event champion.
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race – a winner-takes-all match race for the $1m prize.
SailGP Season 2 Schedule*
April 24-25, 2021 – Bermuda Grand Prix
June 5-6, 2021 – Italy Grand Prix – Taranto
July 17-18, 2021 – Great Britain Grand Prix – Plymouth
August 20-21, 2021 – ROCKWOOL Denmark Grand Prix – Aarhus
September 11-12, 2021 – France Grand Prix – Saint-Tropez
October 9-10, 2021 – Spain Grand Prix – Andalusia
December 17-18, 2021 – Australia Grand Prix – SydneyJanuary 29-30, 2022 – New Zealand Grand Prix – Christchurch (CANCELLED)
March 26-27, 2022 – United States Grand Prix – San Francisco (Season 2 Grand Final)
*Subject to change
2021-22 Teams, Helm
Australia, Tom Slingsby
Denmark, Nicolai Sehested
France, Quentin Delapierre
Great Britain, Ben Ainslie (alternate – Paul Goodison)
Japan, Nathan Outteridge
New Zealand, Peter Burling (alternate – Arnaud Psarofaghis)
Spain, Jordi Xammar (alternate – Phil Robertson)
United States, Jimmy Spithill
Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing in some of the iconic harbors around the globe. Rival national teams compete in identical F50 catamarans with the season culminating with a $1 million winner-takes-all match race.
Source: SailGP
