The focus of all activities is on the sailing clubs! As a host, as a participant, as an ambassador for the public. But the most important effect that we’ve seen is the movement within the clubs. The sailors identify with their club, they are proud to have the honour to represent their club in the National Sailing League. Young and old, men and women, sailors from various classes are sailing together as a team for their club and fight for the reputation.

In addition: A simple set of rules, short races, six to eight boats, professional public relations and social media activities, a firm organisation on the water and ashore. But also the constant communication of the organisers with the clubs and its sailors is crucial.

In general, all clubs are eligible to start that have an official status of their national sailing association. If a league is established for the first time, and even if a 1st and 2nd division exist, a qualification for the starting allowance makes sense. But to do this, there have to be teams facing relegation and newcomers, who have to prove themselves in the qualification.

Between three and seven events per year. Each event normally consists of three racing days. The idea is to manage 45 races in total (three races per flight, each race with six boats, which means, that each club has sailed once after one flight). With 18 clubs this means a maximum of 15 races per event per club.

An average of 200 to 400 Euro per league event (three days) per club. Some countries have a starting fee of 1,000 Euro, depending on logistics, event management, branding, etc. Defined by each country itself. Of course, sponsors are helpful to keep the starting fee moderate for the clubs.

Fleet Race. Up-and-down sailing with a windward mark and a leeward gate. The duration of each race is between 12 and 15 minutes maximum.

The ideal league boat fulfills the following criteria: One-design, simple to sail by three to five crew members, easy to transport with a trailer, gennaker or spinnaker. In most countries, the J/70 has established itself, a boat, that is not just sailed in the leagues, but also became a new one-design boat class. But a Melges24, Melges20, Delphia24 or similar boats would be also suitable for the league sport.

Each league uses between four and eight boats for a league event. One spare boat in case of damages can also be helpful.

The boats are ideally provided centrally by the league organisation. Advantage: Similar boats, similar condition, similar trim settings, uniform appearance and more simple for the participating sailing clubs. Another possibility for the league organisation is to make a sponsoring agreement with a national retailer: The retailer could not get a better “test drive experience” for the sailors.

A race is sailed with four/six/eight boats. Let’s take six boats as an example: Six clubs are racing in one race at the same time. Six further clubs are sitting on a RIB to be shuttled to their boats right after the first group crossed the finish line, because the second starting signal will be just three minutes later. The remaining six club teams are waiting ashore. The rotation of the teams continues like this. The pairings (club against club encounters) of the single races are rotating according to a fixed pattern (pairing list). The goal: The same number of races (45 in total during three days, 15 races per club and league weekend), the best possible distribution of encounters (club against club).

Ideally between three to four persons: A project manager, a person for the onshore organisation, a person for the offshore organisation as well as a person for PR and social media. To produce video footage and images, a cameraman and a photographer should also be hired. Plus the numerous volunteers, that are needed for a sailing regatta by default: Race committee, jury (umpire), buoy tender, starting vessel, etc.

Since 2013, 17 European countries and the USA founded a sailing league. There are more countries to follow.

If you sum up the clubs in all countries, there are already over 300 clubs competing in league sailing. Usually between 18 and 80 clubs per country.

The leagues gain wide support in all countries. Sailors, clubs, media, sponsors, cities and the associations love the format. It’s not exaggerated to say that league sailing revolutionised the sport of sailing.

Very differently. In some countries, the clubs did join forces to form a national league association. In other countries, the league format was pushed forward by a few clubs ­– often supported by a professional agency. But most of the times, the national sailing association was the driving force – like in Denmark, Sweden, Austria or now in France.

The result in most countries will most probably be a triangular relationship: national sailing association – league association – agency/marketer.

Yes, there is. “Konzeptwerft”, the creator of the sailing league format, offers support for countries to found a league. Background information, presentations, check lists onshore/offshore, Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions as well as a kick-off workshop are supposed to make the start easier. Why invent everything again or find out yourself, if proven concepts can be reproduced?!

Yes. There is a management manual, the so-called rule book. You find it here.

With the cooperation of different, national league organisations, the most important rules are defined (obligatory rules and optional recommendations), which enable the comparison and standardisation of the leagues. This is especially relevant regarding the qualification for the international SAILING Champions League.

Yes, there are. Even today, we are trying to convince global partners to invest in the SAILING Champions League as well as in the national league markets. But “Konzeptwerft” can also support on a local level.

With SAP Sailing Analytics, SAP has developed a tool providing professional broadcasting of a league events (GPS tracking, live leaderboard, overall leaderboard, relevant statistics and performance data). We can get you in contact with SAP. More information about the services offered: www.sailtracks.tv