Robertson Books his Ticket to the Monsoon Cup

Terengganu, Malaysia, 28 October 2010


Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing put in a sublime performance against the emerging talent of David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour to win the Asian Match Racing Championship (AMRC) and book his place in next month’s World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) finale event, the Monsoon Cup.

Gilmour, son of four-time Match Racing World Champion Peter Gilmour, had the upper hand on Robertson earlier in the week at the five-star Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Pulau Duyong having triumphed over him in both qualifying matches. It was howeverthe defending Champion Robertson who masterfully defeated his nearest rival 2-0 in the final.

Robertson will now join Jeremy Koo (MAS) Koo Racing Team-Evernew - winner of the Malaysian Match Racing Championship (MMRC), the top eight skippers in the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) standings, the winner of the upcoming Sunseeker Australia Cup and one wildcard entry for the Monsoon Cup which takes place from 30th November to 5th December at the world class Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa.

A delighted Robertson said: “This year’s competition was so much harder to win as the skill level of all the skippers has gone up tremendously. David was a worthy opponent as he beat me twice in the qualifying sessions, but I think my experience of taking part in more match racing events around the world was the deciding factor. My crew performed tremendously and got better as the event went on.”

Looking ahead to the Monsoon Cup, Robertson was in buoyant mood: “I was sixth last year but am confident of doing better this year,” said Robertson. “I will be taking part in two events before the Monsoon Cup and it will certainly help me sharpen up my skills.”

With the Match Racing World Champion crown and a large slice of the USD475,000 prize money on the table at the Monsoon Cup on the table, the thoughts of the top 5 teams in the WMRT standings will be very much focused on Malaysia. Only 17 points separate the top three teams of Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing and Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN. With the Monsoon Cup offering 1.5 times more points than a standard WMRT race, that 17 point gap is easily closed with the winner set to scoop 38 points and the remaining places the following: 30 (2nd), 22 (3rd), 18 (4th), 15 (5th), 12 (6th), 9 (7th), 6 (8th).

Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team and Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar are fourth and fifth in the series and still in with a mathematical chance of winning but will need results of their opponents at the Monsoon Cup to go their way.

Asian Match Racing Championship - Final Standings
1. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing
2. David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour
3. Wataru Sakamoto (JPN) Team Siesta
4. Reuben Corbett (NZL) MAF1/Black Sheep Racing
5. Peter Nicholas (AUS) Freshie Racing Team
6. Graeme Sutherland (HKG) Team Hermes
7. Mark Lees (GBR) Team ECHO
8. Tan Wearn Haw (SIN) SINYIDAI
9. Neil Semple (THA) Capital TV

About the Asian Match Racing Championships (AMRC)

At its debut in 2006, the AMRC saw participation from five regional teams, including from Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, racing in the world-class Pulau Duyong match race circuit, which is also the venue for the Monsoon Cup.

Last year saw a massive increase in interest with over 30 international teams applying for a chance to compete. But only seven selected teams were racing in the AMRC, including two from Malaysia. Now it has grown to include the participation of youths under 25 from around the globe.

Asian Match Racing Championship Winners:
2006 - Adam Minoprio (NZL) – BlackMatch Racing
2007 - Adam Minoprio (NZL) – BlackMatch Racing
2008 - Keith Swinton (AUS) – BlackSwan Racing
2009 – Phil Robertsson (NZL) - WAKA Racing

Source & Credits
WMRT.COM

Winning The Malaysian Match Racing Championship 2010 (MMRC) Monsoon Cup Qualifier

Summary of our Days at Kuala Terengganu

We won the Championship last weekend at Kuala Terengganu, everything looks so easy on the news we were kinda portrayed liked it was an easy win but was it?...
It wasn't.

The level of match racing in Malaysia keep increasing every year, and the event were much more worthy of the grade 3 event tag compared to the years before. Winning it was an uphill task and here is our account...


Despite not being the defending champion we have always been one of the firm favorites to win it. For on paper every single crew member have won something on their own or with the team .

On day one and two, we were rusty and nervous, almost throwing our first race away. We also took a lot of penalties and even received a black flag on day one. We tried to improve on day two but our progressed was slow but was lucky to end the day winning 3 matches in a row and also taking a race off the defending champion

On day 3, we identified 2 weakness, our speed was not up to the par in the light wind, and we were too aggressive in trying to get other teams penalty. So we took some measure in overcoming the weakness, we made 2 rules, rule 1 we are not allowed to point at all today and rule 2, we remained aggressive but avoid contact with
another boat at all cost.

It started really well, until we gave away 2 races in a row, putting us in a very vulnerable position. We had to win the remaining 2 matches for a spot in semi final, winning one race only may tie us at 9 point with Tiffany and Razali but we will lose out on count back.

so it was risky, but the matter are still on our hand, and we could not rely on others result as we starts early for the last two flight.

We hold on to our breathe and made it. Winning the race against the defending champion and the finalist of MMRC 2009. Both races we won the pre start and lead from the start to the end.

After racing two round robins we begins to feel weary and tired, but despite that we were convinced we are fitter than the other teams and in the semi final against Nik, we took first race without any problem, on second he was late on the pre start, we made most of the opportunity to give him a penalty and he ended up with a black flag.
On the last final race, the pre start was pretty neutral with Nik reaching the windward mark first, we pressed on, and was unfortunate to be penalized for not giving him enough room when we passed by a navigation buoy where our spinnakers touches.

Yet we were not nervous, we tailed him closely, and manged to get under him near windward mark, luffed him up just enough to give us space , while he had bear off to round the mark, we gybe and bear off to offset our penalty inside him...that was our best move in the MMRC2010, we came back side by side heading towards the finishing line, a gybing battle ensued and we came out on top to win the race!

On the Final race, the wind continues to blow, Tiffany started the race really well, we knew her team was tired, and engaged her in a taking duel. We were spot on as she loses out about 2 boats length after few tacking. Knowing that we can take advantage of her weary crews. We continuously engage her in the next two races. We were really tired too but we had our game face on. We were relieved at the end of the day for managing to live up to our team's name.

Notification of Host Venue Bidding Process

World’s Premier Sailing Series Launches Venue Bidding Process

The ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), sailing’s premier global match racing tour, has today opened the bidding process for cities, regions and countries from around the globe to enter the race for the right to host a stage of sailing's leading world series.

WMRT is an exciting and spectator friendly discipline with leading skippers and their teams taking each other on in short, sharp, high adrenalin, head-to-head battles in identical boats. Recognised by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with special event status, WMRT is a professionally managed tour currently consisting of nine events worldwide. The Tour culminates in the crowning of a World Champion.

The bidding process, which will be managed by venue acquisition consultancy Regatta International, will see six new venues selected to join the Tour from the 2012-2013 seasons. The new venues will win the right to hold a World Championship stage, each lasting for 5 days.

Cities, countries and regions interested in finding out more about WMRT, the benefits associated with being a host venue, and what the application process is, can find full details and register their interest at http://application.wmrt.com/

Commenting on the opening of the bidding process, WMRT CEO Jim O’Toole commented, “The World Match Racing Tour is a well proven marketing platform for destinations wishing to showcase their facilities, infrastructure and organisational capacities, increase their international tourism profile and attract inward investment."

“We are currently undergoing an intense period of expansion and are looking forward to partnering with venues who share our ambition. We have already fielded strong levels of interest from potential venues and by opening up the bidding process we’ll be requiring bidding venues to meet certain criteria."

“These will range from essential requirements such as proving they can ensure good winds, to logistical, marketing and financial commitments, as well as guaranteeing they can provide the level of infrastructure associated with a world class level sporting event.”

Regatta International’s Director Terry Newby said, “The World Match Racing Tour is already one of sailing’s most respected brands with outstanding events around the world. The opportunity to work with interested parties to develop the series to 15 stages by 2013 is a hugely exciting prospect.

“Over the past 10 years WMRT has developed into a very well organised series which attracts top class sailors while drawing a huge global audience and media footprint. The benefits for venues looking to host a stage are numerous, ranging from strong economic returns to developing international awareness. We look forward to collaborating with bidding cities to maximise their chances of success.”


For further information contact:
World Match Racing Tour
Name: Jim O’Toole
Tel: +44 7921 020845
Email: jimotoole@wmrt.com

Regatta International
Name: Terry Newby
Tel: +44 61 413644287 or + 60 173382144
Email: terrynewby@regattainternational.co.uk

Credit & Source
WMRT.com

Check Out Koo Racing Team Blog

http://kooracingteam.blogspot.com/.
As this is my personal sailing race log,

For Koo Racing Team News please visit
http://kooracingteam.blogspot.com/.

So do follow the blog for news on KRT!

Thanks
Sean

MMRC- 2010 Monsoon Cup Qualifer Round Robin 1 & 2 Results

Click on the image for larger view

MMRC- 2010 Monsoon Cup Qualifer Round Robin 1 Pairing List

Generally a good pairing for our team, with us only taking the stronger teams towards the end of the Round Robin.

Round Robin 1

Flight 1

Elia 0 Hazwan 1
Jerome 0 Nik 1
Masyuri 0 Tiffany 1
Rizal 0 Jeremy 1

Flight 2
Jereome 0 Tiffany 1
MAsyuri 0 Jeremy 1
Elia 0 - Razali 1
Rizal 0 - Hazwan 1

Flight 3
Jeremy 1- Jerome 0
Razali 1- Nik 0
Rizal 0- Elia 1
Hazwan 1- Masyuri 0

Flight 4
Rizal 0 - Razali 1
Mahsyuri 0 - Elia 1
Hazwan 1- Jerome 0
Nik 0 - Tiffany 1

Flight 5

Elia 1 - Jerome 0
Nik 1 - Jeremy 0
Tiffany 0 - RAzali 1
Masyuri - Rizal

FLight 6
Tiffany 0 - JEremy 1
HAzwan 1 - Nik 0
Razali 1 - Masyuri 0
Jeremoe 0 - Rizal


HAzwan 5
Razali 4
Jeremy 4
Elia 3
Tiffany 3
Nik 2

To Race

Flight 7
Jeremy - Razali
Jerome - Masyuri
Elia - Nik
HAzwan -Tiffany

FLight 8
Razali - Jerome
Tiffany - Elia
Jeremy - Hazwan
Nik - Rizal

Flight 9
Nik - Masyuri
TIffany - Rizal
Jeremy-Elia
Razali-Hazwan

3 days before Monsoon Cup Qualifier and We are Kings of Broga Hill !

3 days more, and we decided we needed some fresh air, something that would inspired us.
We decided to wake at 5 am in the morning, and drive all the way from Kuala Lumpur to Broga Hill, Semenyih to catch the Sunrise



Hiking up was not easy for the wrong reason, good spot always means lots of people and Broga Hill is just that lots of people.

Although reaching the bottom of the hill at 6am in the morning, there were already packs of people ahead of us. And passing them to be on time for sunrise was our mission.



Thinking back, waking up early wasn't easy,but today its one of those days, we made up our mind or a more exact phrase, we made it a point we are going to be inspired today and we are going to do just that.

Oh boy it was worth it.The few hours of extra sleep replaced by a breathtaking view of calmness . The view was just what we needed, while the hike up with lots of avoiding people maneuver brings out the determination in us.

By end of the day we have already receive news of the confirm teams, the list was not much of a big surprise, with only one new team from Putrajaya. We welcome them and hope they will enjoy match racing.

We also heard there were a lot of sun and wind in the afternoon ,and that kinda contradicts to the weather forecast of Kuala Terengganu, where lots of rains was forecast-ed. What ever the weather condition we do hope it blows there.

See you guys at the Monsoon Cup Qualifier.

WMRT- Press Conference, More events and double the prize money

With the recent announcement that catamaran would be used for the America Cups.
WMRT took their opportunities well, announcing that 6 Tour Event would be added and the prize money pool would be doubled from 250k USD to 500k USD.

The Match Racing events has always been deemed as a feeder events to the America Cups, This I believe has always been the main attraction of it, although the America Cups is using Catamaran now, still..its always still going to be a feeder events, or at least one of the feeder events for America Cups.

But with continuous promotion effort from the WMRT, the increased of prize money and tour events all over the globe, I believe they are moving away as just being a feeder event.

I personally feel that WMRT will do well, all because it offers accessibility which allows more participation from fellow sailors and that will generate the feeling of affiliation to it. And people going to follow it, because someone you know are involve in it, I believe they are 18 qualifying events, correct me if I am wrong, with at least 1 qualification event for each Tour events.

Now that Match Racing for Men is already in Asian Games, I can only see more Tour Events being held in Asia. And I am waiting for that to happen.

Sean Ong

3 Teams from Royal Selangor Yacht Club will participate in the National Qualifier for Monsoon Cup 2010

16 days before the qualifying, the Royal Selangor Yacht Club has always been very supportive of the Malaysian Match Racing Championship. Where we have been well represented every year since 2006 with the exception of year 2008.
In 2006 we were represented by 2 Teams, in 2007 3 Teams, In 2009 4 Teams
and this year 3 Teams !


Tom will be taking helm in Team RSYC,



Tiffany Koo will be taking helm in Koo Racing Team and Jeremy will be taking helm in Koo Racing Team Evernew !

We will face Teams from around Malaysia, these Team will will definitely give us a run for our money.

Last Year Winner Hazwan, with his Silver Match Race Team

Last Year Finalist Elia with her Sail Putrajaya Team

and Semi Finalist Razali from the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Other Team We May see include a Team from MYA, which could be represented by Masyuri. He is the Asian Games representative of Malaysia who may use this as his practice ground before leaving for Asian Games,

A Team from Johor and a Local Team from Terengganu.

So we May only sees 9 Teams only this time around.

Live and Breathe The Thrilling Argo Group Gold Cup Action

-WMRT NEWS-

London – 1 October – The one-on-one battles, heated rivalries and twists of fate which embody the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) will be played out on the waters of Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda next week at the Argo Group Gold Cup where the introduction of a mobile website and live blog with audio feed promise to bring the action closer to fans than ever before.

The Argo Group Gold Cup 2009. Photo - Charles Anderson

The WMRT is already well-known for providing virtual on-the-water stadiums to the scores of spectators who annually attend the Tour’s events and next week that fan experience will be further enhanced with the launch of the Tour’s new mobile website, www.wmrt.com. Spectators in Hamilton Harbour and around the world using iPhone, iPod, iPad as well as all Android, BlackBerry, Palm and Windows mobile devices will be now be able to access live results, reports, image and video galleries as the action unfolds. Mobile users can also access the Tour’s daily news vodcast and ‘Play of the Day’ via YouTube and fans of specific teams will have the unique option to personalise their homepages with the latest team information, images and biographies.



In addition, fans will be able to get further under the skin of the action from Bermuda where testing will take place for a live audio and video feed broadcast alongside the race blog at www.wmrt.com. Live spectators and web viewers will enjoy additional insight and race commentary from Scott Dickson, a renowned match racing figure who is well-versed in the Argo Group Gold Cup having competed there on numerous occasions.



The Tour already boasts an impressive global TV broadcast distribution, with highlight programmes aired by 25 broadcasters in over 183 countries. Next week’s action will be broadcast on Sky Sports, Eurosport and CNBC amongst other channels whilst highlights will also include exclusive interviews with the world’s best skippers, including reigning Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, two-time World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar sponsored by Argo Group and Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team.



The launches are the result of a focused strategy by the WMRT to increase the series’ global multimedia footprint and are a timely addition with the Tour standings delicately poised as the teams approach the sharp end of the series. All eyes in Bermuda will be on Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team as he bids to stave off his arch rivals and take another step towards his first ISAF Match Racing World Championship title. That will suit his nearest challenger, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing who could potentially draw level with a win in either of the last two WMRT events. Just as the teams are busy calculating and computing all the permutations, the added insight that these new media platforms will bring will make it easier to follow than ever before.



Jim O’Toole, CEO at the World Match Racing Tour, said: "Sailing is often cited as being a poor spectator sport however the WMRT is unique in its ability to bring the action up close to spectators. We also have a huge global following and our focus on developing the Tour’s multimedia channels is targeted towards that audience and to build our overall fanbase. What better time to showcase the Tour’s ever-expanding multimedia offering as we head towards a thrilling finale at the final two events in Bermuda next week and then the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia in late November early December.”