Stena Match Cup Sweden

Match Cup Sweden (previously Swedish Match Cup, Stena Match Cup Sweden) is a sailing event on the World Match Racing Tour held in Marstrand, Sweden in the beginning of July every year. Organizers of Match Cup Sweden are The Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club and Brandspot.

Stena Match Cup Sweden
OrganizerRoyal Gothenburg Yacht Club
Brandspot
Typematch racing final on the World Match Racing Tour
ClassesM32
VenueMarstrand, Sweden
Competitors20
ChampionBjörn Hansen
Most titlesPeter Gilmour (6)
Websitewww.matchcupsweden.com

The tournament consists of an open class and a women’s class, both of which compete in match race sailing. It is one of the pivotal events on the World Match Racing Tour, being among the longest running events on the tour. The event has attracted well over 100.000 spectators [1] on an annual basis.

History

The first edition of Match Cup Sweden was held in 1994, then as Swedish Match Cup. The initiator of the event was Swedish sailing legend Magnus Holmberg, [2] who with the help from The Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club and Swedish Match arranged the first event in Marstrand, Sweden.

Between 1994 and 2002 the tournament used the DS 37 Matchracer boat, until the introduction of the Swedish Match 40 in 2003. The new boat was designed by another sailing legend, Pelle Petterson, specifically for the Swedish Match Tour, which was the equivalent of today’s World Match Racing Tour.

Due to a change of the Swedish legislation prior to the 2006 event, Swedish Match, being a tobacco company, were prohibited of sponsoring the event. Losing its title sponsor, the 2006 event had to be cancelled, only to return in 2007 under the new name ’’’Match Cup Sweden’’’. The organizers then decided to go back to the original DS 37 Matchracer boats.[1]

Hall of Fame

For the 15th edition of Match Cup Sweden in 2009, the organizers set up a Hall of Fame for to celebrate the already rich history of the event. Two inductees were elected for the opening of the Hall of Fame; Magnus Holmberg and Peter Gilmour.

Magnus Holmberg, Sweden,was inducted for his vital role in the founding and upbringing of the event, arguably being the most important individual of its history. Along with stellar performances on the water, his place in the Hall of Fame was meant to be.

Peter Gilmour, Australia is, among many big names victorious in Marstrand, the biggest of them all. He celebrated his induction by winning his seventh Match Cup Sweden, meaning that he had won almost half of the editions in the history of the event. A pioneer in matchracing, Gilmour is now both a household name in Marstrand as well as the current acting president of the World Match Racing Tour.

Marstrand seen from the East

Location

One of the most popular locations among the sailors, Marstrand offers a unique combination of world class sailing and an extraordinary spectators’ arena. The narrow waters on the South side of Marstrand brings the audience within meters from the boats, still providing enough wind to create intense sailing. The picturesque environments that Marstrand and its surroundings offer has single-handedly attracted a great number of both world-class sailors and spectators to the event throughout the years.

Results

Open class
Year Champion Runner-up Third place Fourth place
1994 Peter Gilmour Ed Baird Magnus Holmberg Russell Coutts
1995 Peter Gilmour Ed Baird Bertrand Pacé Magnus Holmberg
1996 Bertrand Pacé Russell Coutts Peter Gilmour Ed Baird
1997 Peter Gilmour Ed Baird Jesper Bank Magnus Holmberg
1998 Peter Gilmour[lower-alpha 1] Sten Mohr Dean Barker Bertrand Pacé
1999 Peter Gilmour[lower-alpha 1] Ed Baird Tomislav Basic Magnus Holmberg
2000 Dean Barker Bertrand Pacé Sten Mohr Magnus Holmberg
2001 Russell Coutts[lower-alpha 2] Luc Pillot Magnus Holmberg Björn Hansen
2002 Dean Barker Russell Coutts[lower-alpha 2] Ed Baird Bertrand Pacé
2003 Chris Law Karol Jablonski Peter Holmberg Jesper Bank
2004 Russell Coutts Peter Gilmour Magnus Holmberg Chris Law
2005 Peter Gilmour Magnus Holmberg Dean Barker Peter Holmberg
2006no races
2007 Björn Hansen Magnus Holmberg Jesper Radich Mattias Rahm
2008 Mattias Rahm Torvar Mirsky Magnus Holmberg Mathieu Richard
2009 Peter Gilmour Mathieu Richard Sebastien Col Damien Iehl
2010 Ben Ainslie Jesper Radich Magnus Holmberg Torvar Mirsky
2011 Ian Williams Björn Hansen Jesper Radich Peter Gilmour
2012 Björn Hansen Peter Gilmour Ian Williams Phil Robertson
2013 Björn Hansen Phil Robertson Simone Ferrarese Keith Swinton
2014 Björn Hansen Ian Williams Taylor Canfield Francesco Bruni
2015 Björn Hansen Ian Williams Keith Swinton Taylor Canfield
  1. under Japanese nationality.
  2. under Swiss nationality.

Women’s class
Year Champion Runner-up Third place Fourth place
1999 Dorte O. Jensen Christine Briand Betsy Alison Marie Björling
2000 Dorte O. Jensen Betsy Alison Malin Källström Marie Björling
2001 Dorte O. Jensen Malin Källström Malin Millbourn Sharon Ferris
2002 Marie Björling Dorte O. Jensen Malin Millbourn Betsy Alison
2003 Marie Björling Malin Källström Annette Ström Malin Millbourn
2004 Marie Björling Lotte Meldgaard-Pedersen Claire Leroy Betsy Alison
2005 Malin Millbourn Marie Björling Claire Leroy Linda Rahm
2006no races
2007no women's class
2008 Claire Leroy Anna Kjellberg Linda Rahm Jenny Axhede
2009 Katie Spithill Anna Kjellberg Linda Rahm Lucy MacGregor
2010 Ekaterina Skudina Renee Groeneveld Lucy MacGregor Katie Spithill
2011 Claire Leroy
2012no women's class
2013 Stephanie Roble
2014no women's class
2015no women's class


References
  1. WMRT.com, Event information.
  2. A Perfect Match, written by Joakim Hermansson, p. 26-29.
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