Balboa Yacht Club to host two international youth regattas

NEWPORT BEACH (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — Balboa Yacht Club will host two major international youth regattas this summer, open to men and women under the age of 23.

After hosting its 51st annual Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Regatta from July 17-22, Balboa YC will hold the fourth edition of the World Youth Match Racing Championship from July 30-Aug. 5.

World Sailing, the sport’s governing body based in London, selected Balboa Yacht Club to host the fourth running of the World Youth Match Racing Championship based on its history of running the prestigious Governor’s Cup, an invitational that is the world’s oldest youth match racing regatta.

California Gov. (later U.S. President) Ronald Reagan granted the Deed of Gift for the Governor’s Cup to Balboa Yacht Club in 1967 “for the purpose of encouraging youth racing in the State of California and the recognition of the skill and high performance of those men and women under 20 years of age….” The age limit was increased in 2015, allowing sailors through their 22nd year to compete.

As the years progressed, the Governor’s Cup grew in popularity with its first international team participating in 1989. Since then teams from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Finland and Spain have participated and become regular entrants and often multiple winners.

In its fourth year, the World Youth Match Racing Championship — which has provided a pathway for the best young match racers to test themselves against the best in their age group — will welcome up to 12 skippers.

The Governor’s Cup and Worlds will be sailed in Balboa YC’s Governor’s Cup 22 sloops, which were designed by BYC member and former commodore, Alan Andrews, an internationally recognized yacht designer.

A report from The Associated Press was used in this story.

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