Congratulations Australia - SailGP Champions!
Caroline Blatter 29 Mar 2022 San Francisco / United States of America (USA) / North America / Shoreside Activities & Events / Regattas & Cruising Rallies
Australia have won the SailGP Championship for a second successive year,
beating Japan and the United States in the Grand Final on a crazy,
incident-filled Sunday in San Francisco.
SailGP Team Australia
The Aussies and Driver Tom Slingsby, who won the inaugural Championship in 2019, defeated incredibly tough conditions to win the entire Mubadala Sail Grand Prix event, before overcoming Nathan Outteridge's Japan and Jimmy Spithill's USA in the winner-takes-all final race, with a $1 million prize money!
Sunday was a crazy day on San Francisco Bay, with collisions between France and New Zealand and Spain and the USA, while two races were abandoned and restarted - including the Grand Final itself due to a whale entering the racecourse!
The Aussies overcame all this adversity to prove their talent once again, and wild cheers greeted their lifting of the Championship trophy in the San Francisco race village.
SailGP has been one of the most exciting races on water in iconic locations around the world, with intense competition in superfast, supercharged foiling identical F50 catamarans, nation v nation, powered by nature, sailed by some of the world's best sailing athletes.
"We’ve never really seen this calibre of fleet anywhere in the world," said Slingsby.
The New Zealand SailGP Team take the ‘Podium for the Planet’, with their
Race for the Future partner, Live Ocean.
New Zealand have taken home the top prize in SailGP’s ‘Podium for the Planet’, after being awarded the most points in the Impact League in Season 2. They will pick up the Impact League trophy with a final score of 1246, and collect $100,000 for Live Ocean’s marine conservation work.
Great Britain takes second place with STEM Crew, and Australia third with Parley.
SailGP Team New Zealand
The trophy marks a first in sport, where athletes and teams are rewarded for positive environmental and sustainable actions in a league running parallel to the main sailing championship. Launched in July, the Impact League measures teams’ efforts over each event according to ten robust criteria, including travel, tech and innovation, single-use plastic and using their voice for good. The results are independently audited and verified after each event.
SailGP Director of Purpose & Impact Fiona Morgan said: “Sport has the opportunity to play a critical role in educating people around the climate crisis. Awarding the first winners of the Impact League is a very proud moment for SailGP, and proof that sustainability can be embedded in the fabric of sport.
“In just one season we have changed mindsets and driven further sustainability and cutting innovation into our operations. The New Zealand team is a shining example of a team doing things differently for a better planet. I also want to congratulate all teams for their brilliant work - it’s only through collective action that we’ll make a difference. I can’t wait to see what we achieve in Season 3.”
With Season 3 starting in just over a month, with 9 Event Races over 12 months,
starting in Bermuda in May!
Season 3 Calendar
- Event 1 - Bermuda SGP - 14/15th May 2022
- Event 2 - Chicago, USA SGP - 18/19th June 2022
- Event 3 - Plymouth, Great Britain SGP - 30/31st July 2022
- Event 4 - Rockwool Denmark SGP - 19/20th August 2022
- Event 5 - Saint Tropez, France SGP - 10/11th September 2022
- Event 6 - Cadiz, Spain SGP - 24/25th September 2022
- Event 7 - Dubai SGP - 12/13th November 2022
- Event 8 - Christchurch, New Zealand SGP - 18/19th March 2023
- Event 9 - San Fransisco, USA SGP - 6/7th May 2023
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With thanks to SailGP for Images & Press release information
