World and National Champions from various classes plus Olympic and America’s Cup sailors to compete in three-day SB20 Asian Grand Slam and Asia Pacific Championships to be held in Singapore from 28 – 31 January 2016. This truly international event with competitors from over 10 countries including is proudly hosted by ONE°15 Marina Club in Sentosa Cove.
In its third edition, the Asia Pacific Championships has grown substantially in scale and seen a remarkable strengthening response. This has increased further with the addition of the “Asia Pacific Grand Slam” title; one of only four Grand Slam events globally for 2016. The option to charter has enabled entries from Thailand, Belgium, France, Australia and the UK bolstering the local fleet. Thus this upcoming edition has attracted an impressive 22 teams. The sailing instructions are now available at ONE°15 Marina Club and on the official event website: www.sb20asiangrandslam.com.
The regatta is organised by ONE°15 Marina Club with the support of the SB20 Class Association and sanctioned by the Singapore Sailing Federation (SSF). The SSF will run the races over three days (29-31 January), while ONE°15 Marina Club will host the participants at its premises in the exclusive Sentosa Cove at the southern end of Singapore.
The event is destined to become an iconic part of the Asian sailing calendar and is consistent with the Singapore Sailing Federation’s wider support to bring sailing to a larger audience and foster international relations through sporting events.
This competition has attracted top level racing teams from across the world such as former SB20 World Champions, a multitude of Champions from various classes, Olympic sailors and America’s Cup sailors, making this a truly unique event that promises tight competition.
Dr. Benedict Tan, President of the Singapore Sailing Federation, remarked, “This landmark event brings our sailing friends from all over the Asia Pacific region and the world to Singapore, and SingaporeSailing is proud to be a part of it.”
Mr. Edward Russo, Chairman of the SB20 World Council, shared, “After sailing a couple of weekends in France in December and January with full foul weather gear, you can’t imagine how much I’m looking forward to sailing the SB20 Asian Grand Slam & Asia Pacific Championships in Singapore. But it’s not only the weather we’re coming for, the Singapore SB20 fleet is impressively active with top local sailing talent and this Asia Pacific Championship event (recently named a SB20 Grand Slam event as well) will give us the opportunity to thank the Singaporean teams that came to the French Grand Slam in Hyeres in May 2015.”
Mr. Russo, who has been sailing the SB20 since 2010, will head the French team “Black Magic”, alongside other big names Gilles Favennec and Jerry Hill. Favennec was on the French America’s Cup team in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2000, and Valencia, Spain, in 2003 and he was in the Areva team that was 2nd place in the 2007 season of the World Match Racing Tour. In 2013, he started sailing the SB20. Hill, one of the founding members of the SB20, and co-owner of the SB20 worldwide distributor SportsBoatWorld, won the SB20 World Championship in Torbole, Italy in 2010.
Mr. Peter Botman, part of a team new to SB20, shared, “We are part of a larger crew that gets together each year to sail a 27-metre yacht called Condor in Hamilton Island Regatta. We are looking forward to good breeze, great racing in what looks like an interesting race area off Singapore with 21 like-minded participants.”
Mr. Nils Razmilovic, Chairman of the Singapore SB20 Class Association added, “The SB20 Grand Slam and Asia Pacific Championships is now one of Asia's premier one design sailing regattas with top international competition, excellent organisation and a great social program, making it an event not to be missed!”
Mr. Brian Werner, General Manager, ONE°15 Marina Club remarked, “We are proud to be hosting this event at the Club. It is a delight that the entries for this year are so strong. Spectators are set for an exciting weekend of racing! A regatta such as ours relies on the support of the athletes, sponsors, volunteers, officials and spectators and we are delighted that the SB20 Asian Grand Slam and Asia Pacific Championship is set to be a fixture in the racing calendar over the next three years. We wish all those competing the very best of luck.”
Supporting and jointly organising the SB20 Asian Grand Slam and Asia Pacific Championships is an initiative by ONE˚15 Marina Club which underscores the Club’s commitment to growing yachting lifestyle in Singapore. As part of the Club’s commitment to drive and grow interest in the sport, ONE°15 Marina Club will be organising a Lifestyle Fair & Water Carnival alongside the regatta activities to engage the wider community. This will run for the duration of the race weekend. Members of the public are invited to join in at the ONE°15 Marina Club in Sentosa Cove for a variety of fun activities including a display of luxury super cars, fashion shows and bazaars, and water activities including jet skis and more!
The SB20 is an international class which is affordable, fast, fun and offers highly competitive racing opportunities for 3-4 people. Both the Asia Pacific Championships and the Asia Grand Slam are sanctioned by the SB20 World Council. For more information on the SB20, visit http://www.sb20class.com.