Adam Minoprio and BlackMatch Racing competing in the 2008 Warren Jones Regatta. They are now placed 8th in the world match race rankings. Supplied image.
by John Roberson
The international stature of the Warren Jones Youth Regatta received a significant boost today, when it was granted the status of “Tour Qualifying Series” to the Danish Open Match Racing Championships, an event on the World Match Racing Tour.
This means that the winner of the Warren Jones Regatta, which starts next week, will get automatic entry to the Danish event in September, one of ten regattas on the World Tour.
Invitations to events on the World Tour are the lifeblood of professional sailing teams trying to climb the ladder to success, and are very hard to come by for young sailors just starting out.
Skip Lissiman, CEO of the Western Australian Yachting Foundation which hosts the Warren Jones Regatta, commented today, “we are delighted that the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta is acknowledged as a premier event, with the winner being invited to a World Tour Event. Past winners, Torvar Mirsky, Adam Minoprio and Simon Minoprio have done us proud by mixing it with the best on the international circuit.”
This gives the winner of next week’s 7th annual Warren Jones Regatta a tremendous prize package of entry to the Danish Open, plus entry to the Spanish Open, a non-Tour grade 1 event, and $7,000 in travel and expenses subsidy, which is a valuable entre into the European circuit.
Commenting on their decision to offer this event such significant status, Tour Director Craig Mitchell said, “Torvar Mirsky and Adam Minoprio have both come through the Warren Jones Regatta, and been a credit to the Tour, so we see this event as an important conduit for rising talent to join our events.”
Explaining the relevance of qualifying events he added, “The introduction of the Tour Qualifier Series in 2008 was a huge success and we are pleased with how it has developed not only as a platform for up and coming skippers but also as a foundation for future events. Marseille International Match Race participated as a TQS event last year and has now been recognised as a Tour event for 2009. It is rewarding to see ideas grow and succeed”
The Warren Jones Regatta is hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club this year, on the Swan River’s Matlilda Bay, running from Tuesday 27th to Friday 30th January, with ten skippers under the age of 25 years, contesting the series.
Royal Perth Yacht Club
World Match Racing Tour
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