The Notice of Race for the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup has been published on the ISAF website.

The ISAF Nations Cup is a global competition to find the world’s top match racing nations in both open and women’s events and to develop match racing infrastructure around the world. The Nations Cup encompasses a series of eight Regional Finals from March to July 2011, from which the top team will qualify for the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, which will take place in Sheboygan, USA from 13-18 September 2011. The Notice of Race outlines the key details of the event, including the dates and venues, equipment and format of the Regional Finals and Grand Final.

The Notice of Race also includes the ISAF Member National Authority (MNA) allocations for the Regional Finals, ie which nations can compete in which Regional Final. MNAs wishing to compete should apply for entry using the form in the Notice of Race by 15 January 2011 for South American and Europe I Women and 15 February 2011 for the remaining Regional Finals.

Henry Menin (ISV), chairman of the ISAF Match Racing Committee, said, "The sixth edition of the ISAF Nations Cup should be the best ever of this ongoing series. The explosion of growth in match racing throughout the world, and its inclusion in the Olympics, has brought intense focus on the event and we are seeing more and more of every nation’s talented young sailors getting involved in this discipline.

Because the Nations Cup Regional Finals are spread over six continents, it gives superb opportunities for all nations around the globe to get involved and to test their athletes against the world’s most established names. The eight venues … all new hosts … will be fantastic for competitors and spectators alike. We encourage every nation to join the fun!"

Regional Finals will be held in South Africa, Bahrain, Austria, Portugal, Poland, USA, Australia and Brazil. The racing on the water will be preceded by an ISAF Match Racing Clinic, aimed to help develop match racing skills and officiating in that region.

The winners of the Regional Finals will progress through to the Grand Final, where they will be joined by representatives from the defending champions France, and the host nation, USA, to battle for the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup trophies in the open and women’s events.

Following on from earlier editions in 1991, 1993 and 1995, the ISAF Nations Cup was successfully re-launched in 2006. The latest edition took place in 2009 with the Grand Final hosted by Porto Alegre in Brazil. In total 60 teams representing 39 MNAs participated in the 2009 ISAF Nations Cup. Eight Regional Finals decided the line up for the Grand Final at the Veleiros do Sul sailing club in Porto Alegre where France repeated their double victory from 2007 to retain the open title skippered by Damien Iehl and the women’s title skippered again by Claire Leroy.

Venues and Dates

Grand Final (Open & Women) - Sheboygan, USA - 13-18 September 2011

Regional Finals
Africa (Open & Women) - Cape Town, South Africa - 5-8 May 2011
Asia (Open & Women) - Manama, Bahrain - 10-16 April 2011
Europe I (Open) - Neusiedl am See, Austria - 2-5 June 2011
Europe I (Women) - Porto, Portugal - 22-26 March 2011
Europe II (Open & Women) - Gdynia, Poland - 19-23 July 2011
North America & Caribbean (Open & Women) - Fort Worth, Texas, USA - 15-21 May 2011
Oceania (Open & Women) - Sydney, Australia - 12-14 May 2011
South America (Open & Women) - Porto Alegre, Brazil - 24-27 March 2011

Click here to download the Notice of Race

For more details on the Nations Cup visit: www.sailing.org/nationscup

(From the ISAF website: www.sailing.org)