News

12

November 2020

SSL Team Australia is the leader of the first SSL Nations Ranking

The SSL Ranking is definitely one of the major assets of the SSL. It takes into account more than 100,000 sailors, both skippers and crews, racing in over 15,000 regattas in 100 countries every year. It is a unique tool to let anyone know at any time who is the best sailor of the moment no matter the class, just like it happens in so many other sports. It is now also possible to identify which is the best sailing country of the month.

The SSL Nations Ranking is finally a reality and by adding up the positions of the best five skippers and two best crews of each country in their respective SSL Ranking, we shall always know what country is leading over the over 100 currently in the SSL Global Ranking.

After the many talks, projects and tests, from now on every 10th of the month the SSL Nations Ranking will be published online on starsailors.com and it will be very important in order to identify the seeding of the SSL Gold Cup in 2022.

The 56 countries presently attending the SSL Gold Cup 2022 won’t all start at the same time. Some, just like in every major tournament, will have to build their way up to the top, and the SSL Nations Ranking will be fundamental to determine the seeding.

 

 

So as we look at the freshly printed November Ranking, the first element that pops is a huge margin of the leading country over the second. Australia has a total of only 76 points over Great Britain with 138. New Zealand has got both skipper and crew ranking leaders, the formidable duo Peter Burling / Blair Tuke, but this kiwi record doesn’t bring them higher than the third spot. Brazil in fourth is the first Latin country in the ranking (or just non-anglo-saxon), followed by a strong European fellowship with France, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Norway broken by the United States of America in 11th  place.

Closing the 56 SSL Gold Cup teams is Team Antigua, a small nations who proudly gave birth to two America’s Cup winners, and will now have to use all of their seafaring knowledge to advance in the Nations Ranking for the 2022 SSL Gold Cup.

Rachele Vitello

SSL Press Officer since 2015