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Prestigious Congressional Cup sailing match race returns to Long Beach

The 57th annual Congressional Cup, a prestigious five-day sailing competition dubbed the “granddaddy” of modern match racing, will make its return to the waters off Long Beach this week.

The Congressional Cup, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, continues a busy sporting April for the city. It will take place about a week-and-a-half after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach took over downtown. And this past weekend, the city hosted the annual Ficker Cup, a lower-tier match racing competition that acts as a qualifier for the Congressional Cup.

The Congressional Cup will run from Tuesday to Saturday, April 19-23.

Mayor Robert Garcia and the Long Beach Yacht Club will kick off this year’s competition with a ribbon-cutting to rededicate the waters just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier and rename the area as Congressional Cup Stadium. Those waters are where the cup’s races have traditionally been held.

The Congressional Cup, which the Long Beach Yacht Club founded in 1965, is the longest running event of its kind in North America.

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It set the standard for top-level match racing worldwide, according to the LBYC’s website, and draws top-ranked sailors from around the world to vie for the prestigious Congressional Cup trophy and the crimson blazer — a coveted jacket akin to the green jacket golfers receive for winning the Masters Tournament.

This year’s competition will feature 10 teams from five different countries, the LBYC said, including defending champion and five-time Congressional Cup winner Taylor Canfield, with Team Stars+StripesUSA.

“We cannot get enough of this event,” Canfield said in a press release. “We are looking forward to another one.”

Next week’s competition will kick off the 2022 World Match Racing Tour, the longest running professional series in the sport of sailing. This year’s Congressional Cup will also launch LBYC’s build-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the club said.

The Catalina 37s keelboats willbe on the water on Monday for practice. The competition will begin in earnest on Tuesday, with a double round robin series that will continue through the week. The final matches are set for the weekend, April 22 and 23.

“This format fuels excitement, as the players dial in the boats, tune in to conditions, and sharpen their skills,” the LBYC said. “The rousing competition delights both racers and fans, who can watch the combat from the Belmont Pier.”

The pier will be open to all those who want to watch the races for free.

The races will also be livestreamed on the Long Beach Congressional Cup Facebook page.

More information about the event is available on the LBYC’s website, lbyc.org.

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Source: Orange County Register

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