Star Sailors League

Star Sailors League
Sport Sailing
Abbreviation SSL
Founded January 2013,
Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
Location Lausanne
Chairman Xavier Rohart

The Star Sailors League (SSL) was formed in January 2013 by Xavier Rohart and other Star sailors to protect the interests of professional sailors. Rohart became the first president.

The SSL's executive offices are in Lausanne, Switzerland.

History

On September 9th the Star Sailors League will held a Press Conference at the Olympic Museum to present its vision to the medias. At this occasion, a special exhibition dedicated to sailing will be unveiled by the IOC President, Thomas Bach.

Ranking events

Event category Name Number Total prize money (USD) Winner's ranking points Governing body
1 SSL Finals 1 200,000 4,000 SSL
2 SSL Grand Slams 4 100,000 3,000 SSL
3 Star World Championships 1 0 2,500 ISCYRA
4 Olympic Games 1 0 2,000 IOC
5 Continental 0 750 ISCYRA
6 District, national championships and regattas with > 30 boats 0 250 ISCYRA
7 Region (regattas with 10 to 29 boats) 0 100 ISCYRA
8 Local (regattas with 3 to 9 boats) 0 10 ISCYRA

Rankings

The SSL Ranking is divided into two separate lists (Skippers and Crew) and is computed using a mathematical rule which takes into account each competitor's six highest valid results (plus all results in Cat. 8 only) over a period of two years. In 2012 the SSL has ranked 162 races. At the end of each event, all participants are awarded a number of SSL points based on their final classification. The number of points allocated to each individual ranking is determined by the “Table of SSL Points”. The Table shows the distribution in accordance with the mathematical model inspired by the ATP World Tour. The SSL Ranking of Skippers constitutes the benchmark classification for selecting skippers to participate in the "SSL Finals".

At the end of a competition, the allocated SSL points can be recorded in the ranking at 100% for 52 weeks. From the 53rd week, and up until the 104th week which follows the competition, the SSL points allocated to all categories of regattas (1 to 8) can be recorded with a value which corresponds to 50% of their initial value. From the 105th week which follows the end of a competition, no SSL points can be recorded for this competition. So, the SSL Ranking is not reset at the beginning of each year but is a continuous computer-based process of entering, downgrading and dropping events. The SSL Ranking is valid 7 days and is updated each week.

Editions

SSL Finals

Year Gold Silver Bronze
2013
Nassau, Bahamas
 Brazil
Robert Scheidt
Bruno Prada
 Poland
Mateusz Kusznierewicz
Dominik Życki
 United States
Mark Mendelblatt
Brian Fatih
2014
Nassau, Bahamas
 United States
Mark Mendelblatt
Brian Fatih
 Sweden
Fredrik Lööf
Anders Ekström
 Poland
Mateusz Kusznierewicz
Dominik Życki
2015
Nassau, Bahamas
 United States
George Szabo III
Edoardo Natucci
 New Zealand
Hamish Pepper
Bruno Prada
 France
Xavier Rohart
Pierre-Alexis Ponsot
2016
Nassau, Bahamas
 United States
Mark Mendelblatt
Brian Fatih
 France
Xavier Rohart
Pierre-Alexis Ponsot
 Brazil
Robert Scheidt
Henry Boening

Multiple medallist

# Athlete Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Mark Mendelblatt
Brian Fatih
 United States 2 0 1 3
2 Bruno Prada  Brazil 1 1 0 2
3 Robert Scheidt  Brazil 1 0 1 2
4 Mateusz Kusznierewicz
Dominik Zycki
 Poland 0 1 1 2
4 Xavier Rohart
Pierre-Alexis Ponsot
 Poland 0 1 1 2

SSL Grand Slams

SSL Lake Grand Slams

Year Gold Silver Bronze
2015
Grandson, Switzerland
 United States
George Szabo III
Patrick Ducommun
 Germany
Robert Stanjek
Frithjof Kleen
 United States
Mark Mendelblatt
Brian Fatih

SSL City Grand Slams

Year Gold Silver Bronze
2016
Hamburg, Germany
 France
Xavier Rohart
Pierre-Alexis Ponsot
 Norway
Eivind Melleby
Joshua Revkin
 Poland
Mateusz Kusznierewicz
Dominik Życki

Relations with ISCYRA

The organization operating as SSL and the Star Class and its 2000 worldwide members are completely separate and independent. The two organizations and members have separate mission statements but share a connection to the 100 plus year old premier one design racing keelboat. The Star Class and the SSL have a standard licensing agreement which protects the Star Class trademarks and name but allows SSL to use the image and likeness of the boat to promote their programs existing between two parties. The Star Class expects the relationship with the SSL to help continue the tradition of the Star being the premier one design racing keelboat. It will give more visibility to attract famous sailors and insure that the Star Class will remain the premier keelboat class.

Like the Olympics, the SSL will help attract the top sailors of the world to the Star primarily though the SSL Grand Slams and SSL Finals that will include Prize money. The boats used in the SSL events will be Star boats and will be supplied by the SSL, so unlike the perception of the Olympics, there will be no “arms race” to create a faster and more expensive sailboat. It will impact the Star Class in a positive way by providing business for our suppliers and used equipment which helps make Star sailing more affordable to others. Although some classes like the Dragon and 6 Meter have come back in popularity in some areas as a classic yacht with very good competition, the Star is more athletic and to keep the class growing and at the top of the sport the Class membership need to continue to attract young athletic sailors.

The worldwide media coverage provided by the SSL, will further promote the class with an opportunity to attract new members at all levels. Some of the future Star Class events will be also promoted by the SSL just as they have done for the last two Star World Championships. The Star Class members believe this association will bring in new regatta sponsorship prospects insuring Star Class events are run at a high level and at the same time providing the possibility of holding down entry fees.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.