Notice of Race Published for ISAF Grade #1 Rolex Osprey Cup - Request for Invitations Now Open

St. Petersburg, Fla., USA (July 26, 2010) – The Notice of Race for the 2010 Rolex Osprey Cup has been posted by organizers St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.) to the website http://bit.ly/OspreyCupNOR . The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 match racing regatta – scheduled for October 20-23 – annually attracts the world’s top women sailors such as defending Rolex Osprey Cup champion and 2008 Olympian Giulia Conti (Toscolano Maderno, Italy), 2008 Olympian Anne-Claire Le Berre (Brest, FRA), US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), world’s #1 ranked match racer Lucy Macgregor, and ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year Claire Leroy (Nantes, FRA). Women sailors interested in competing should apply for an invitation online http://bit.ly/OspreyCupNOR by August 1.

The first ISAF Grade 1 match race regatta to be held after the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship at the New York Yacht Club in September, the Rolex Osprey Cup is expected to attract many of the teams working toward a berth at the 2012 Olympics in England.

“Interest in women’s match racing is at an all-time high right now,” said Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg, Fla.), the event’s Principal Race Officer and co-chair with Tom Farquhar. “And it’s only going to get more interesting and exciting. Match racing is exciting to watch and we try to encourage spectators by running races very close to the St. Petersburg Municipal Pier.” She went on to explain that prime viewing can be found at the pier or on the water by personal boat.

The Rolex Osprey Cup schedule includes registration and practice sailing on Tuesday, October 19 with daily racing Wednesday, Oct. 20 through Saturday, Oct. 23. The format consists of a double round robin, with knockout (first to win 3 points) semi-final and final rounds scheduled at the end of the round robins. The awards will take place at the Regatta Dinner on Saturday evening.

The Rolex Osprey Cup was founded in 1996 and in 2000 Rolex Watch U.S.A. became the title sponsor. The regatta was not held in 2000 in lieu of hosting the Rolex ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship. For more information, results and photos please visit the www.spyc.org .