http://teamorigin.com en leslie@teamorigin.com Copyright 2011 2011-06-25T16:50:27+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_tp52_fastest_monohull_round_the_island/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_tp52_fastest_monohull_round_the_island/#When:16:50:27Z  JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT ROUND THE ISLAND RACE REPORT FROM PETA STUART HUNT FROM EVENT WEB SITE :    Under leaden skies, the former Jules Verne Trophy winner, Lionel Lemonchois, masterminded lumpy seas, gusts up to force seven and waves of approximately 20 foot around the iconic Needles, to cross the line in three hours, 49 minutes and 58 seconds - just under 42 minutes outside Francis Joyon's 2001 best.  Difficult conditions forced a number of early retirements among the record entry of 1,908 boats with Olympic champions Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison and Shirley Robertson and round-the-world yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur among the estimated 16,000 competitors. TEAMORIGIN, Britain's ISAF match racing world champions and America's Cup team, were the quickest monohull around the 55-mile course, clocking four hours, 43 minutes and one second despite ripping a gaping hole in their mainsail. Olympic gold medallists Iain Percy and Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson joined team principal Sir Keith Mills, the London 2012 deputy chairman, but despite the experience onboard it was still a tough day on the water. Ex TEAMORIGIN Skipper and Three-time Olympic champion Ainslie, swapped his single-handed dinghy to skipper the Ker 40ft Keronimo, tussled with Olympic team-mate Percy on the starting line but came off second best. “I have been round the Island many, many times but this one really takes the biscuit, it was amazing but also quite hairy at times," said Sir Keith. "I think we touched 25 knots of boat speed at one point and that’s very pleasing in a sea state that was challenging, I mean we buried it a couple of times, broached a couple of times. "It’s really refreshing to be the first monohull across the line especially after a little bit of a fracas with Ben Ainslie on the start line. "He tried to pull a fast one on his old mate Iain Percy but Iain wasn’t having any of it and we didn’t let him jump in front of us. I think he thought we’d do him a favour but he was wrong."     2011-06-25T16:50:27+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/americas_cup_racing_to_come_to_plymouth/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/americas_cup_racing_to_come_to_plymouth/#When:13:22:07Z America's Cup racing coming to the UK Full story from The Daily Sail: Despite not having its own team – and it has been confirmed that none of five anonymous AC34 challenges is from the UK - Britain is to host one of the first America’s Cup World Series events, due to take place in Plymouth over 10-18 September this year. Had we known this 24 hours ago we would have discarded the news as an April Fool, for while we don’t wish to knock it, Plymouth is not Porto Fino and we had trouble equating the venue with an event which has as one of the principle sponsors a luxury brand like Louis Vuitton. While it is certainly picturesque, ‘glamorous’ is not a word synonymous with the West Country’s most historic and largest port after it was decimated by the Luftwaffe and little improved by 1950s city council planners. But this is decidedly not an April Fool and after several hours of gestation on our part, the America’s Cup coming to Plymouth does make sense and neither side - not the America’s Cup Event Authority nor Plymouth City Council - has been hoodwinked. This is a smart deal. In retrospect Valencia’s Darsena and the surrounding neighbourhood was about as downtrodden as it comes around the time it was announced as the venue for the 32nd America’s Cup. In many ways the reasons Plymouth has signed up to stage the America’s Cup World Series Plymouth is for the exact same reasons as Valencia: Aside from wanting to make money out of the event, Plymouth is keen to put itself on the map, not just in the UK but internationally, and in odd juxtaposition to the cuts going on throughout every area of the British economy, Plymouth seems to have an ambitious forward-thinking council who are prepared to take a gamble on hosting an event like this. But is it such a gamble? Anthony Payne, the Acting Chief Executive of Plymouth City Council spelled out the financial case: “We didn’t take this decision lightly. To give you some flavour of the direct, immediate economic impact on this: We know that without even a single visitor coming into Plymouth that it will be a big deal for the local economy. With the teams that will be coming – the whole teams and their back-up teams, 700 people staying in Plymouth for 20 days or over £1.2 million of direct impact. And that is not including the direct spend of all these people – restaurants, etc. We believe that just with the 700 core teams, there will be a direct impact of over £2,000,000 on the city’s economy in that month of September.” Payne continued that if you then factor in the media, VIPs, the superyachts that tend to follow Cup events around and then add the day visitors from the local vicinity, those coming for longer from across the whole of the UK, then Europe and possibly the world “we can’t guess what the impact will be. But the guys at the America’s Cup have done an economic impact assessment which shows massive returns for host cities. Even if we meet only 20% of that return we estimate that for the month that this is going to happen in the city, there will be a £10 million direct economic impact – that is why we have agreed to go with this.” But in addition the America’s Cup World Series coming to Plymouth – one of the biggest events the city will have ever staged, alongside its popular annual fireworks festival - the event satisfies many of the West Country city’s marketing objectives. At present Plymouth is striving to establish itself as 'ambitious waterfront Europe city'. In addition, due to its immense naval heritage, they are keen to develop their marine sector. Thanks to the will of the Council the deal has come together impressively quickly. Although tentative enquiries were made at the beginning of the year, the bulk of the deal was done through hard work, perseverance and the burning of the midnight oil, in a little over a week. The event will see the return of racing yachts to Millbay Docks, famously where boats once upon a time were moored prior to the start of the Royal Western Yacht Club’s shorthanded races (and the finish of the Fastnet Race) prior to Queen Anne’s Battery being opened and the RWYC’s clubhouse moving there. Today, some 25 years on, Millbay Dock is known only as the place from where you take the ferry to Roscoff. The dock remains as dilapidated as it was then, but all this is to change (although not before September) as, significantly, it has been deemed a ‘redevelopment area’. As Payne states: “We almost have a blank canvas there, where we can turn it into a village for this event. Working with English Cities Fund we have been able to, in a very short time, get the license to be able to use that as a village to host this event. Without the work of English Cities Fund and the Homes and Communities Agency over this week to make that happen, we wouldn’t be able to host this event.” Not that it is relevant for catamarans, but last year the Council managed to raise the funds to get Millbay Dock dredged, with the long term aim of having a new marina there. So if staging this event is a ‘no brainer’ for the city on so many levels, why did the America’s Cup Event Authority agree to go there? “Why Plymouth? There are 100s of cities around the world that could do this?” pondered ACEA Chairman Richard Worth. “Actually it is fair to say there aren’t that many that are better to fulfil the criteria that we need. In one sense it is a perfect venue, because it is a maritime city that understands the sports of sailing. That is key. If you look out of the window [we are on the penthouse floor of Plymouth’s Holiday inn at the time] it has the best sailing stadium you can imagine anywhere in the world. You can stand on the shore as a spectator and see everything. You would be able to see the whole race course and the boats won’t disappear out to sea.” Plymouth is certainly one of the UK’s best ‘stadium sailing’ venues, a natural amphitheatre for watersports events, where you can stand on The Hoe - just as Sir Francis Drake famously did back in 1588 when he spied the arrival of the Spanish Armada – and hold a commanding view of all of Plymouth Sound. Worth compared it with San Francisco which offers much the same possibilities for racing taking place on the Bay there. Worth explained that one of the main objectives of the new-look America’s Cup is to bring sailing to the masses, the choice of venue being one key element, the new genre of wingsail catamaran being another. This was spelled out by James Spithill who joined the press conference via Skype videocall from New Zealand: “In the past it has been frustrating that we haven’t been able to show different markets and different venues the America’s Cup. Now with this new format we get to showcase that in boats that are the latest technology. The America’s Cup has been branded the F1 of sailing and these boats are very much that in terms of technology, engineering, design, etc. We can take the whole package around to a global audience so that by the time we get to San Francisco in 2013 it will be one of the biggest sporting events in the whole world.” The format of the World Series events has been modified slightly. Covering two weekends, the first will be fleet racing, while during the week there will be a match racing series culminating in a final on the second Saturday, rounding the event off with a final fleet race on the last Sunday. In terms of reaching a new audience, another attraction for ACEA is that the event coincides with the University of Plymouth’s graduation events taking place in marquees on Plymouth Hoe – which will also be used by the event. “Yacht racing has been traditionally a sport for the wealthy and for older spectators,” said Wendy Purcell, Vice Chancellor of the University of Plymouth, causing some spluttering from my colleagues. “We hope to bring a new audience too that will add to the vibrancy of the event and most importantly make it more inclusive. The University is a major player in New Plymouth, exactly the demographic that will add to the Cup’s wider appeal.” We were keen to find out what were the priorities ACEA were seeking in prospective venues for the World Series. According to Worth there are four or five things that “aren’t mutually exclusive or inclusive”: “Clearly finance is one – it has to be able to pay for itself. You have to be able to find a venue that is spectacular. And we have ticked that box here. You have to think about the weather clearly. Then there are market issues - one of the great things about being in Plymouth that is Plymouth is now going to represent not only the UK but northern Europe. So it is cash, weather, the ability to stage the event at all, market strength - all those things can be balanced to say it is okay to be in that place.” Three events in 2011 is less than the five we expected and according to Worth before October this year they will announce the venues for what he expects will be the four or five America’s Cup World Series events in 2012. “The discussions to stage an event are not straightforward in any sense. Even if a council leader or a chief executive can say ‘yes, I want the event’ it still involves so many other people. We have a lot of work to do with other venues in 2012 to make sure that they come home in the same positive and good fashion.” Bob Fisher rightly hauled Worth over the coals for the clashes of the World Series events this year have created. The first, taking place in Cascais over 6-14 August, has been moved forward by a week from the dates originally published in February in order to prevent it coinciding with an RC44 event in Marstrand. However it now clashes with Cowes Week and the Extreme Sailing Series event there. The 10-18 September dates for Plymouth are an exact conflict with both the Extreme Sailing Series event in Trapani and the final event of this year’s Audi MedCup. How arrogant is that? Worth attempted to defend himself over the Cowes Week conflict: “The following week would have clashed with an RC44 event in Sweden and the week before it would have clashed with something else and that is only in the sailing context. If you factor in football or Formula 1 or anything else – whenever you want to hold an event there is almost always a problem. So yes, you have to clash with certain things. Almost any week in the year you want to stage anything there will be a problem.” But while clashes are bad because they dilute media attention for everyone, it creates another problem for crew in Cup teams who were hoping to also compete on the Audi MedCup or the Extreme Sailing Series this year. Artemis and Emirates Team NZ are now likely to be fielding B-teams for the Extreme Sailing Series events in Cowes and Trapani. Keen observers will notice that no AC World Series event has been announced for 16-24 July, originally the published date for when the first World Series event would take place. Worth explains: “Once we were aware that teams were flooding in at the last minute there had to be a logistical period to make sure that everything gets delivered to them in the best possible way. Some teams have already got their boat and are already sailing in it and others who have just entered will only get their first opportunity to sail in New Zealand in the next few weeks. So there is that consideration from a fair sporting point of view – we need to wait until everyone has had their boat delivered and had a chance to start sailing in it.” As a result the shipping of the AC45 fleet back to Europe has been delayed by one month and the teams will now continue to train in Auckland up until June. Meanwhile Tim Smyth and Mark Turner, along with the rest of the New Zealand boat building and composites industry will have their work cut out to try and churn out fifteen AC45s within the available time. Despite the City of Plymouth being answerable to its constituents, it is unclear at this stage how much Plymouth is paying to host the event or indeed whether there is a fee payable to ACEA to host the event. What is certain is that it is not the 6-8 million Euros being rumoured. "That was never the case," says Worth. Anthony Payne states the city's case: “Our contribution to this is limited to working with our partners who have already made investments in the city. We have got an events budget within the city and we are flexing that. We will have to pay some small amounts for additional toilets, a bit of walkway, a big screen on the Hoe, etc. The actual figures for that are very small compared to the benefit we are going to be getting. It is around £100-200,000 in our estimates. Obviously things can come out of left field that could impact. We will be working with our partners and the good will of our partners – the cash support for this, compared to the massive economic benefit we will be getting is very very small.” Richard Worth told thedailysail that the deals with every city they are negotiating with is proving to be different, each city having its own unique objectives and means of financing such events. “In this case [Plymouth] we have the opportunity to bring in six national sponsors and they will be on our side of the division of opportunity. When you are doing the nitty gritty, we’ve had a good negotiation here – we have done a division of the opportunities, the returns as well as a division of the costs. Everyone should come out of this making serious money and Plymouth as a city should be delighted with this.” Worth pointed out that America’s Cup World Series events at this stage are still a novelty but as they become more familiar he hopes that the tables will turn and there will be more demand to hold them. “We shouldn’t forget this is a new concept, it is a new event and there is a bit of marketing upfront that needs to be done before everyone gets the picture. These guys in Plymouth have figured it out pretty quickly and it is really good news for us and them that they have.” The dates of the Plymouth event are approaching the autumn equinox on 23 September and as those who attend Southampton Boat Show (another part clash) know, this can be a particularly turbulent time of year weather-wise in the UK. Richard Worth argued that the AC45s have been designed so that they can be raced in 3-30 knots. So let’s pray for some breeze... So we are still in a state of shock that an America’s Cup event in the world’s coolest boats is to take place in the UK, this year. It feels like we’ve invited the rich uncle over for lunch.     2011-04-02T13:22:07+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/san_francisco_selected_to_host_34th_americas_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/san_francisco_selected_to_host_34th_americas_cup/#When:12:52:41Z San Francisco has been selected as the host venue for the 34th America’s Cup. An official celebration event will be hosted in San Francisco on January 5th, event location details to be announced. Source: www.americascup.com “We sought a venue that fulfills our promise – to showcase the best sailors in the world competing on the fastest boats,” said Richard Worth, Chairman, America’s Cup Event Authority.  “And hosting the America’s Cup in San Francisco will realize that promise.“ “We thank Mayor Newsom, Board President Chiu, Supervisor Mirkarimi and all of the Board of Supervisors, the staff at City Hall and the Port Authority, Mark Buell and San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee, and all who have worked so diligently on securing the bid,” Worth continued. “We look forward to working closely with City of San Francisco over the coming months to create a world-class America’s Cup event, and a large and lasting beneficial impact on the City.”   The world-famous San Francisco Bay will be home to the 2013 America’s Cup Finals and the Challenger Selection Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup, as well as an America’s Cup World Series event in 2012. This will be the first time the America’s Cup has been hosted in the United States since 1995. “Today is one of great celebration, with San Francisco winning the right to host the America’s Cup, and all of the economic benefit, jobs and excitement that comes with it,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “San Francisco is the best place on Earth to host an event of this stature, and we could not be more proud to be the city that brings the America’s Cup back home to the United States.” Independent studies show that the America’s Cup delivers the third largest economic impact in sport to host countries, behind the Olympic Games and soccer’s World Cup. The 34th America’s Cup is projected to pump an estimated $1.4 billion dollars into the San Francisco region. “As a native San Franciscan, I grew up sailing in front of the City. Racing for the America’s Cup in San Francisco is something I have dreamt of my whole life,” said Paul Cayard, CEO of Sweden’s Artemis Racing, a challenger for the 34th America’s Cup. ”By hosting sailing’s most important event in the Bay, the world will see sailing as it never has before.  As a team, Artemis Racing is particularly looking forward to competing in San Francisco.”   Racing will be held on the iconic San Francisco Cityfront and be visible from world-renown tourist destinations such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, Crissy Field, the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf. An influx of millions of tourists is expected for the Challenger Series for the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup Finals in late 2013. “My support for San Francisco hosting the America’s Cup goes beyond the opportunity to see our team competing on home waters,” said Russell Coutts, CEO, ORACLE Racing, the current America’s Cup defending team. “We are excited to sail for our sport’s greatest trophy, on a stretch of water legendary among sailors worldwide.” The Race Village will be constructed on Piers 19 and 29, with the team bases at and around Pier 30/32.  As part of the plan, the America’s Cup Event Authority will redevelop these piers as well as the surrounding infrastructure to support the racing, while rehabilitating the piers for the enjoyment of generations of San Franciscans to come. With a goal of creating the most dynamic America’s Cup in history for fans and participants, changes have been introduced to the 34th edition. Enhancements include the introduction of groundbreaking new 72’ wing-sailed catamarans capable of speeds in excess of 40 miles per hour, new race formats and rules, and a transformed media and online broadcasting approach to enable an interactive viewer experience.  In the summer of 2011, America’s Cup teams will commence racing in the new America’s Cup World Series in the new wing-sailed AC45 catamaran. The America’s Cup World Series calendar of events will be published in early 2011. 2011-01-04T12:52:41+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/onboard_programme_gets_quarter_of_a_million_youngsters_into_sailing1/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/onboard_programme_gets_quarter_of_a_million_youngsters_into_sailing1/#When:15:41:21Z A QUARTER OF A MILLION YOUNGSTERS GET SAILING AND WINDSURFING THANKS TO YOUTH SAILING SCHEME. Over the last five years well over a quarter of a million youngsters have been enjoying sailing and windsurfing thanks to a pioneering scheme from the RYA called OnBoard.   “When we launched the programme back in 2005 we set ourselves the target of introducing 500,000 youngsters to sailing over a 10 year period. Now we are half way through it’s fantastic to see how many youngsters are getting out on the water and that the programme is well on target”, commented Vicky Lenz, RYA OnBoard manager, who has been involved with the project since the outset and has seen the scheme flourish over the past few years.   The grassroots sailing scheme introduces 8-18 year olds to sailing and windsurfing through schools, youth groups and training centres. Whether competing in a fun race at a summer festival or experiencing the thrill of taking a sailing boat or windsurf board out for the first time, 14,000 youngsters have enjoyed OnBoard so much they have continued to sail and windsurf regularly.   Vicky continued:  “Sailing has something for everyone and a key part of the OnBoard ethos is to give children of all ages and backgrounds the chance to experience the pleasure of the sport.”   200 OnBoard Clubs   2010 saw the 200th sailing club come ‘OnBoard’ assailexmouth.com joined the growing number of clubs and centres to become RYA OnBoard accredited. All OnBoard Clubs have to hold RYA Training Centre recognition, which means they must ensure that their staff, facilities and equipment are up to the required RYA standards, giving youngsters the best possible sailing experience in the safest environment.   More schools and teachers   With a strong focus on safety it is no wonder that OnBoard remains a firm favourite with schools across the UK. 1,500 schools and 1,600 teachers have taken part in the RYA OnBoard scheme helping sailing to become a popular choice on the PE curriculum.   Andy Hooper, RYA Southern and South East Regional Development Officer said: “It is brilliant that so many schools and teachers are getting involved with OnBoard. In its own way, sailing can change lives and can really boosts children’s confidence.   “Sailing gets you outdoors, is fantastic exercise and can also be a very sociable sport. It also requires a certain level of skill and those skills are constantly developing as you sail so it’s immensely rewarding. We hope to see even more youngsters, schools and teachers giving OnBoard a go in years to come.   3,000 volunteers   Over the past five years 3,000 volunteers have been helping to keep the OnBoard scheme alive, giving up their time to help with sailing sessions and summer festivals. Vicky explained “OnBoard wouldn’t be where it is today without the dedication and commitment of these people and we are very grateful of their help and support.”   Get involved. With the 2012 Olympic Games just around the corner any youngster looking to get into sailing could not have picked a more exciting time.   The good news is it has never been easier for schools and youth groups to get involved with sailing and windsurfing.   To find out more, and contact your local OnBoard Development Officer, check out the RYA OnBoard website at www.ruob.co.uk     2010-12-07T15:41:21+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_and_teamorigin_world_match_race_champions_2010/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_and_teamorigin_world_match_race_champions_2010/#When:12:43:56Z AINSLIE WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia – 5 December 2010 Britain's Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN has won his first ISAF Match Racing World Championship title by winning the Monsoon Cup on a day of high drama in Malaysia. The three-time Olympic gold medalist was in imperious form at the deciding regatta having staged a stunning late season charge to snatch the title from the clutches of long time series leader Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team. In what was the most enthralling ever finish to the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) the Ainslie v Richard duel went to the very final day of the final event of the season. Having turned the screws on Richard all week, Ainslie knew that if he won his Semi-Final and Richard failed to win his play-off race then the title would be his. Ainslie's illustrious crew has been in such pressure situations many times before and the experience clearly showed. Their 2-0 victory over Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team sparked celebrations among the TEAMORIGIN crew, which includes two-time Olympic gold medalist Iain Percy, Christian Kamp, Mike Mottl and Matt Cornwell. With the World title in the bag there was still unfinished business with the Tour's richest final at stake. Ainslie and his crew kept their composure for an epic final against Australian star Torvar Mirsky of Mirsky Racing Team. The confident young skipper reached the final with consummate ease, defeating Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing 2-0 in their Semi-Final. It was a fitting finale to an enthralling 2010 World Match Racing Tour, with nail-biting match racing that went to the wire: Mirsky recovered from a shaky start to take the first race by a comfortable margin. But Ainslie was 11 seconds ahead at the finish of the second. After four races the score was again even, leaving everything hanging on the fifth, which went in Ainslie's favour. Commenting on his landmark victory, Ainslie said: "It was obviously a great way for us to end as a team. It was very tough out there today but it was a united effort and we’re really happy all round. For the whole team this has been massive for us. We've enjoyed been on the Tour an incredible amount." For Richard it was a disappointing end to what had been a fantastic season in which he led the Tour from the opening race at Match Race France in April. Two further wins followed at the Korea Match Cup and the St Moritz Match Race. However a mid-season blip and a stuttering finish to the year with poor performances in Bermuda and then finally Malaysia have cost Richard dearly, leaving him in second place in the Championship. Richard reflected: "Obviously it’s a huge disappointment to have finished second in the Championship, having been first all season. Ben has a very strong team and they really deserve to be World Champions. I was happy with our preparation for this event and we sailed a fantastic season, making the podium five times. It’s a year we can be really proud of."    To read more about TEAMORIGIN’s victory and the story of Ben Ainslie’s WMRT season, go towww.wmrt.com  World Championship 2010-12-05T12:43:56+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_teamorigin_team_through_to_semis_in_monsoon_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_teamorigin_team_through_to_semis_in_monsoon_cup/#When:11:13:26Z 2010-12-04T11:13:26+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_iin_quarter_finals/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_iin_quarter_finals/#When:09:54:59Z BEN AINSLIE AND TEAMORIGIN THROUGH TO QUARTER FINALS On day 3 of the Monsoon Cup, the final event of the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour, the World Championship was still wide open. Tension was high as this was a make or break day for several of the World Championship contenders.   A 12-15 knot northerly breeze greeted competitors, with one knot of current running down the Terengganu River.   There were many pivotal matches in this busy day, with the current ISAF World Match Racing Tour leader Mathieu Richard (French Match Racing Team), Adam Minoprio (ETNZ/ BlackMatch Racing), the 2009 World Champion and dual Monsoon Cup winner Peter Gilmour (YANMAR Racing) all in danger of missing the quarter finals.   It did not start well for Gilmour when in flight 11 Bjorn Hansen (Hansen Global Racing) beat Gilmour by just one heart breaking second.   Ben Ainslie (TEAMORIGIN) and Adam Minoprio (ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing) met in the next match.   Ainslie won the start but closing on the top mark Minoprio managed to lee-bow Ainslie and luffed up hard. Firmly in control Minoprio accelerated away to victory.   Next up Francesco Bruni (Team Azzurra) defeated Minoprio leaving the World Champion pensive at the stern of his boat, rubbing his trademark stubble.   The afternoon session started with Flight 13. The wind was blowing eight knots, with current down the river on the right so PRO David Tallis moved the start line to equalise the course.   Torvar Mirsky (Mirsky Racing Team) on 5-3 and Richard was an important match for both skippers. Richard was tied in knots and early in the pre-start. Mirsky was fast away on the right and in pressure and extended for a big win. The luckless Richard recounted ‘We made a mistake in the pre-start, we were definitely too early, they did a good job.’   Mathieu Richard (French Match Racing Team) had to defeat Phil Robertson (WAKA Racing) or his regatta was over.   Down the last run Robertson and his crew were faster and closing as the finish line loomedRobertson gybed and it looked like Richard faked but that’s not what happened as Richard explained dockside. ‘We were going to follow when he gybed, I started to but felt the solid puff and made a snap decision to go with the pressure and it paid off.’    So came the climax of the day. It was in flight 15 that Richard met Minoprio. Both were on three wins and six losses, the loser would miss the quarter final cut.   A sensational start as Richard was penalised just 10 seconds before the start and was over early - a dream for Minoprio. On the first cross Minoprio was ahead but Richard had more speed and then the tables turned. Richard rounded and with a fast hoist was three boat lengths ahead. However the race stayed close until the second bottom mark was reached and Richard rounded in pressure while Minoprio stalled. A giant gain for the Frenchman who sailed away and was able to do his penalty comfortably at the finish line.   A jubilant Richard said ‘A great win for us. Our start was a disaster but we did not give up.  We stayed focused on our sailing and we managed enough of a lead to take the penalty and win.’   Adam Minoprio is leaving the ISAF World Match Racing Tour having crashed out of the Monsoon Cup and World Championship contention. He will have three months to get over this result before he joins the Emirates Team New Zealand Volvo Ocean Race campaign.     Immediately after the finish of the Richard v Minoprio match, Race Commentator Andy Green cruelly or cheekily (you decide) asked Minoprio ‘Three qualifiers, Phil Robertson, Keith Swinton and Jeremy Koo, as well Minoprio look to have missed the cut. Was last year’s World Championship win a fluke?’   A wry smile from the defeated Minoprio as he replied, ‘That race was very disappointing. We had a great pre-start, but we missed a left hand wind shift on the first beat and that was all Richard needed.’   Reflecting on his defeat, a downcast Minoprio commented  ‘This is the number one disappointment in my sailing career. We are shattered not to have made it through to the last eight and be out of the World Championship. Perhaps we should’ve gone to Perth. This will bug me for a while - it’ll take three months to get over this. We’ll take some time out to reflect on this now.’   In the next match Peter Gilmour and his YANMAR Racing crew forced Torvar Mirsky (Mirsky Racing Team) over early, then sailed away to an important win for the four times World Champion, who made the quarter finals with that result.   A big smile from Gilmour as he said ‘Folks like us from the Facebook generation (NOT) are fighters. It all starts again now.’   There are still two flights to finish the round robins of the Monsoon Cup.    The final comment of the day came from Adam Minoprio. ‘You learn more from losing than winning (often) and today we’ve learned a great deal.’   2010-12-04T09:54:59+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_move_up_the_leaderboard_day_two_of_monsoon_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_move_up_the_leaderboard_day_two_of_monsoon_cup/#When:12:16:58Z Richard Fighting to Stay in the Hunt while Ben Ainslie and TEAMORIGIN move up the leaderboard after 10 flights   Kuala Terengganu, 2 December 2010 – Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team staged a late fight back in the second Qualifying Session at the Monsoon Cup to keep his ISAF Match Racing World Championship hopes alive. A quick glance over his shoulder and the Frenchman will be encouraged to see his nearest rival Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing looking increasingly fallible.  Richard's (FRA) French Match Racing Team, who remained defiant after a poor opening Qualifying Session, needed to post some early wins today to boost his overnight 0-2 scoreline and his confidence. It wasn’t to be. After a defeat against Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzurra he was up against Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team. They appeared evenly matched, with the Dane holding a slim lead on the water, but carrying a penalty, until Richard fell into a hole in the wind. Radich managed to unwind his penalty and finish almost two minutes ahead, pummeling Richard into his fifth loss of the event.  The Frenchman hasn't relied on luck to lead the championship race, so it was no surprise to see him rally his team in his final two races against Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing and Jeremy Koo (MAS) Koo Racing Team- Evernew to give his team a more flattering 3-5 overnight scoreline.  If Richard’s head was down, Adam Minoprio’s was dipped more. He was simply a different man out there today to the one Peter Montgomery said ‘flourishes when tension levels rise’. The Kiwi will have it all to do tomorrow after finishing in 9th position today. Minoprio and Richard’s loss is proving to be TEAMORIGIN skipper, Ben Ainslie’s gain. The three-time Olympic gold medalist showed his pedigree in tricky light conditions at the Pulau Duyong. He won all his matches today, including a comprehensive victory over Richard.  Asked why he felt Richard was suffering, Ainslie said: “It’s very tough out there in these very light conditions. Mathieu would no doubt be doing better if there was a steadier breeze as it would be more about match racing. The results have been coming more from general sailing ability… it’s probably easier for dinghy sailors than some of the match racers.” Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar will be satisfied with his result today having gone unbeaten to extend his record for the regatta to 7-0. He came to the Monsoon Cup in 5th place and an outside chance of claiming a hat-trick of world titles. Results so far are playing into his hands - he will win the championship if neither Ainslie nor Minoprio finish on the podium, and Richard is knocked out before the Quarter-Finals.  History tells us that it's too soon to write off any competitors at this stage – afterall Williams won both his World Championship titles after scraping into the Quarter-Finals in 8th place. After losing his first two races yesterday, Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team turned his game around today, winning all five of his matches to have one foot in the Quarter-Finals, along with Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team who also holds a 5-2 scoreline. With Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzurra on the cusp of a Quarter-Final spot, six of the remaining seven teams are still in contention for a place in the final eight. If spectators needed any further evidence of the pressure these skippers are under, they need to look no further than the skippers’ heart-rate monitors. Consistently hitting the rates a seasoned athlete would show during a long-distance run, today the stress of trying to win the ISAF Match Racing World Championship was plain to see. To see all of tomorrow’s action from Qualifying Session 3 live, including the clash between Richard and Minoprio that looks increasingly likely to determine which of the two top seeds will make it through to the Quarter-Finals, visit www.wmrt.com      Results after 10 Flights: Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 7-0 Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN 5-1 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 5-2 Jesper Radich (DEN) Gaastra Racing Team 5-2 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzurra 4-2 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team 3-3 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-5 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 2-4 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team 2-4 Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 2-4 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-5   Jeremy Koo (MAL) Koo Racing Team Evernew 0-8   2010-12-02T12:16:58+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/2_wins_and_1_loss_to_teamorigin_day_one_of_monsoon_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/2_wins_and_1_loss_to_teamorigin_day_one_of_monsoon_cup/#When:13:31:22Z 2010-12-01T13:31:22+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/racing_starts_tomorrow_at_monsoon_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/racing_starts_tomorrow_at_monsoon_cup/#When:18:59:33Z 2010-11-30T18:59:33+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_teamorigin_take_3rd_place_in_sunseeker_australia_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_teamorigin_take_3rd_place_in_sunseeker_australia_cup/#When:12:42:01Z   Kiwi Phil Robertson Wins Sunseeker Australia Cup Saturday, 27th November 2010 Perth, Western Australia Rising young Kiwi sailing star Phil Robertson put in a magnificent performance on the last day of the Sunseeker Australia Cup to lift the trophy, defeating British skipper Ian Williams 3 – 0 in the final. Robertson, who is a graduate of one of the toughest match racing academies in the world, run by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, had a roller-coaster ride through this regatta, going through the first day undefeated, before crashing to seventh place at the end of the round robin. However he and his crew picked themselves up off the mat to win their quarter-final against current World Tour leader Mathieu Richard. He lost his first semi-final race to Britain’s golden boy of sailing, Ben Ainslie, but came back again to win the next three, and finally outclassed Williams in a display of cool, calm sailing that defied his 23 years. Stepping ashore with a face splitting grin Robertson said, “it’s great mate, it’s awesome,” as words tumbled from his lips, we loved it, just from the start of the day we haven’t lost a race today. “We’ve just been in the groove, the boys were all just so relaxed, and just loving it, having a ball out there, and the course was pretty interesting, it was extremely shifty a lot of fun to sail, I think we jagged that last one but we’ll take it.” All three final races were fought tooth and nail, but in the first two Robertson won by margins of 25 and 23 seconds, in the final confrontation the Kiwi picked up a penalty, but managed to build up sufficient lead to take his turn on the finishing line and grab the win, and the trophy by one second. Talking about the event in general he said, “this is a build up for the Monsoon Cup really, that’s the reason we’re here, we wanted to work on the small things and it’s all come together, we were pushing it and trying to make it all work, so we’re obviously pretty confident going into next week.”   The petit-final to decide third and fourth places was a repeat of last year’s final, local skipper Torvar Mirsky against Ben Ainslie, but the result was reversed, with the British sailing superstar taking the contest. Results: P. Robertson (NZL) I. Williams (GBR) B. Ainslie (GBR) T. Mirsky (AUS) I. Ainslie (RSA) K. Swinton (AUS) M. Richard (FRA) W. Tiller (NZL) P. Nicholas (AUS) R. Corbett (NZL)           2010-11-27T12:42:01+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ainslie_and_teamorigin_proceed_to_semi_finals/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ainslie_and_teamorigin_proceed_to_semi_finals/#When:11:17:19Z AINSLIE, WILLIAMS, MIRSKY & ROBERTSON IN SEMIS 26th November 2010 Perth, Western Australia Three nationalities and a stack of talent have made it through to the semi-finals of the Sunseeker Australia Cup after some tense and tight racing in the quarter-finals, with Britain’s Ben Ainslie and Ian Williams, home-town boy Torvar Mirsky and Kiwi Phil Robertson all making it through. Upset of the day was young skipper Phil Robertson bundling World Tour leader Mathieu Richard of France out of the regatta after a hard fought five race series in which the Kiwi chalked up two wins, before the Frenchman levelled the score, then Robertson took the decider. Commenting after the series Robertson said, “we should have won the first three, but we gifted him two races.” When Ben Ainslie faced up to South Africa’s Ian Ainslie in their quarter final it was a crash and burn contest, with a collision between the two, and Ian Ainslie running aground, allowing multi gold medallist Ben Ainslie to take the series in straight races. Ian Williams, who has won the world championship twice, also progressed into the semi-finals in three straight races over local skipper Keith Swinton. Aussie rising star Torvar Mirsky chalked up a quick couple of wins over Will Tiller of New Zealand, before the Kiwi pulled one back, then Mirsky wrapped up his place in the semis in the fourth race. “We won our quarters, which is always a really tough part of a regatta,” commented Mirsky at the end of the day, “Will Tiller from New Zealand did well in the shifty stuff, and made it difficult for us.” Discussing the conditions for the day he said, “the wind this morning was south easterly and north easterly and always tricky, that happens in Perth when the easterly stays in and the seabreeze doesn’t make it, there were big shifts, and sometimes you’d get a long way ahead, and sometimes you wouldn’t.” The semi-finals and finals will be sailed on Saturday, with Ben Ainslie having selected Phil Robertson as his opponent, leaving Mirsky to duel with Williams. The regatta is hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club and managed by Swan River Sailing and is the last qualifying event for the Monsoon Cup, final event on the 2010 World Match Racing Tour. Results – Quarter-finals B. Ainslie (GBR)                bt            I. Ainslie (RSA)               3 – 0 P. Robertson (NZL)          bt            M. Richard (FRA)             3 – 2 I. Williams (GBR)              bt            K. Swinton (AUS)            3 – 0 T. Mirsky (AUS)                 bt            W. Tiller (NZL)                3 - 1  2010-11-26T11:17:19+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_team_rise_to_the_top_day_two_of_australia_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_and_team_rise_to_the_top_day_two_of_australia_cup/#When:13:42:24Z The Cream Rises to the Top 25th November 2010 Perth, Western Australia Britain’s sailing superstar Ben Ainslie showed his class on the Swan River today, rising to the top of the leaderboard at the Sunseeker Australia Cup, to win the round robin stage of the regatta. He won five straight races today, turning a fifth place at the end of day one, with a 3 – 2 scoreline, into first place with a scoreline of 7 – 2 this evening, sharing the top score with local skipper Torvar Mirsky, but taking the top spot on a tie-break. Talking about his improved form Ainslie said, “that was a bit cleaner today, we had a little bit of rust yesterday, the guys were a bit tired having just flown in from Europe, but we felt a bit better today, and got things slightly smoother I think.” Winning the round robin brings with it the privilege of choosing his quarter-finals opponent, and he has selected South African Ian Ainslie who finished fourth on the leaderboard. One of the big areas of improvement for Ben Ainslie today was in his starting, generally getting off the line in control. He  commented, “it is difficult, because it’s so shifty, and with such a tight starting box, it really all happens in the last 30 seconds, but we pretty much got what we wanted in most of the starts. “I guess they weren’t all perfect, they never normally are in match racing, but we ended up having control in most of the starts, and half way up the beat, but really on this course it’s so shifty it’s more about good speed, getting the shifts and good crew work when things are shifting around so quickly.” It was Western Australian skipper Torvar Mirsky who defeated Ben Ainslie in the final of this event last year, so a repeat of this match in the final this year is still possible, no doubt with the British skipper hoping to reverse the result. Another important game within a game being played out at this event is the fight for the last place available at next week’s Monsoon Cup, in Malaysia, the final and deciding regatta on this year’s World Tour. The top placed skipper at the Sunseeker Australia Cup, who has not already qualified, will grab that slot. Conditions on the Swan River’s Perth Water were very tough again today, with the seabreeze piping in at 15 to 20 knots, which on such a tight course is a real test of skill, fitness and agility. The Sunseeker Australia Cup is hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and managed by Swan River Sailing. RESULTS AT THE END OF THE ROUND ROBIN 1.            B. Ainslie (GBR)                 7 – 2 2              T. Mirsky (AUS)                 7 – 2 3.            I Williams (GBR)                 6 – 3 4.            I. Ainslie (RSA)                   5 – 4        5.            K. Swinton (AUS)             5 – 4 6.            M. Richard (FRA)              5 – 4 7.            P. Robertson (NZL)          5 – 4 8.            W. Tiller (NZL)                    3 – 6 9.            P. Nicholas (AUS)             2 – 7 10.          R. Corbett (NZL)                0 – 9 QUARTER-FINAL PAIRS B. Ainslie (GBR)                 v. I. Ainslie (RSA) M. Richard (FRA) v. P. Robertson (NZL) T. Mirsky (AUS) v. W. Tiller (NZL)  I. Williams (GBR) v. K. Swinton (AUS) 2010-11-25T13:42:24+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_and_teamorigin_3_wins_on_day_one_of_sunseeker_australia_cup/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_and_teamorigin_3_wins_on_day_one_of_sunseeker_australia_cup/#When:16:06:14Z 24th November 2010 Perth, Western Australia With skill and guile that belies his age, the young Kiwi skipper Phil Robertson manoeuvred his way through the first day of the Sunseeker Australia Cup undefeated in a field that would over awe considerably older skippers. Most notable of the scalps he collected on the first day was last year’s winner Torvar Mirsky, the home-town boy who is currently fourth on the World Tour leader board, and hoping to capture the world title next week in Malaysia. In other matches he downed fellow Kiwis Reuben Corbett and Will Tiller, who is one of his former crew, and another Perth skipper Peter Nicholas. Last week Robertson won the New Zealand Championships, one of the toughest national competitions on the planet. Talking about the day’s action he said, “we’ve just come off our nationals, so the team is in pretty good shape, we’re just trying to improve on the small things now. “I like the small race course here, it makes it that much more exciting, and it makes the pre-start that much more important, it’s good racing out there. “I think in most of the races we came off pretty fair in the pre-start, which created a decent lead, but Torvar was definitely the hardest.” Behind Robertson the ladder is crowded with Frenchman Mathieu Richard, England’s Ian Williams and Torvar Mirsky all on a 3 – 2 score line. Making up the top half of the leader board is British golden boy Ben Ainslie with three wins from five races. The Swan River was at its best, with a healthy 15 to 18 knot seabreeze, and a cloudless sky. The Sunseeker Australia Cup is hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club and run by Swan River Sailing.     Results after day 1 1.            P. Robertson (NZL)                          4 – 0 2=           M. Richard (FRA)                              3 – 1 2=           I Williams (GBR)                                3 – 1 2=           T. Mirsky (AUS)                 3 – 1 5.            B. Ainslie (GBR)                 3 – 2 6=           K. Swinton (AUS)                             2 – 3 6=           W. Tiller (NZL)                    2 – 3 8.            P. Nicholas (AUS)                             1 – 4 9.            I. Ainslie (RSA)                   0 – 2 10.          R. Corbett (NZL)                               0 – 4       2010-11-24T16:06:14+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_looks_ahead_to_final_wmrt_event/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/teamorigin_looks_ahead_to_final_wmrt_event/#When:13:21:43Z London – 24 November 2010: WMRT website   BEN AINSLIE AND TEAMORIGIN LOOK AHEAD TO LAST WMRT EVENT : MONSOON CUP Triple Olympic gold medallist, Ben Ainslie believes victory in the ISAF Match Racing World Championship at the Monsoon Cup next week would be the perfect swansong for TEAMORIGIN and the ideal retort to Mathieu Richard’s taunts of inconsistency. Following the decision by team owner Sir Keith Mills to disband TEAMORIGIN, Ainslie cited the Monsoon Cup and the ISAF Match Racing World Championship as the perfect way to bring down the curtain, for the foreseeable future at least, on one of the most established teams in the history of match racing: “It would be fantastic for us as a team to bow out at the top of the World Championship and to win the Monsoon Cup next week. The Monsoon Cup is unique – I’ve never sailed in an event quite like it because I don’t think there is an event like it in the world.” With five teams each still in the running to win the Match Racing World Championship at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Terengganu, considerable lip service has been paid within the media and amongst the teams about the pressure the sailors will be under to perform. It’s something Ainslie is acutely aware of: “The very nature of match racing demands a certain test of nerve and the ability to deal with different scenarios in tense situations. “Never more so than at the Monsoon Cup - there you’ve got to tackle the best match racers but also, because of the tricky weather conditions, any poor decisions will quickly eat away any advantage you might have made over your opponent.” Peter Montgomery, the broadcasting stalwart of numerous America’s Cups, Olympic Games and Volvo Ocean Races, recently cited Ainslie’s mental toughness in the ‘white hot furnace of competition’ as being one of his key assets. For Ainslie, it’s Richard who will be shouldering the most amount of mental pressure: “It’s difficult to say whether Mathieu Richard’s confidence is easily knocked however I’m sure he’s probably feeling the pressure as he only holds a slight lead over Adam [Minoprio] and I. For us, we’ve got nothing to lose so that’s easier psychologically.” On the subject of Richard and his belief that Ainslie’s biggest weakness is his ‘inconsistency’, the Brit replied: “I was quite amused to read Mathieu Richard’s comment - My team has competed in five events on this year’s Tour and we’re in with a chance of winning the title so I don’t agree with him on that.”  Looking ahead to the specific challenges posed by the Monsoon Cup and the often treacherous conditions, Ainslie said: “If the monsoon rain kicks in, the challenge becomes altogether more difficult. It’s a question of how you and your team deal with that challenge which counts. It’s our third time competing in Malaysia so we know a lot about what it takes to win a match race there.” 2010-11-24T13:21:43+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/build_up_to_final_wmrt_event/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/build_up_to_final_wmrt_event/#When:11:08:30Z WMRT WEB SITE REPORT: Just as F1 had a sting in its tail with Vettel, who went into the last race in third place, snatching the title, WMRT is being tipped to have an equally dramatic climax at the Monsoon Cup, which is being held at the five-star Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa in Kuala Terengganu from 30 November to 5 December. Matthieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team will go into the final event of the year with a 15 point lead over defending Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing while Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN is just two points further back. Australia’s Torvar Mirsky, Mirsky Racing Team and two-time World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar are also still in with an outside chance. Sailing pundit Mark Chisnell, who has watched the action unfold throughout the season, has called into question championship leader Matthieu Richard’s preparation saying: “I was interested to see that he’s chosen to race in Perth just before the Monsoon Cup. Mathieu is very methodical in his preparation, and I’m sure he’s got a plan, but this year his worst results have come in events that followed closely one after another – not a particularly good omen for him.” While Chisnell believes the race is too close to call between Richard, Minoprio and Ainslie, he has all but written off the chances of Williams and Mirsky adding, “Even if I was a betting man, I wouldn’t put a pound on it, it’s just too close. I’d only say that it will be Richard, Minoprio or Ainslie – too much has to go the way of Mirsky or Williams for them to come from behind and take it. But after that, it’s wide open.” Chisnell has also warned of the impact the rest of the field will have in deciding the outcome. With all the skippers having to take part in the Qualifying Round Robin to win their place in the knock out stages no-one is guaranteed a place in the final. Alluding to the importance of the rest of the teams, Chisnell said, “They could have a huge impact – last year, it was decided when Peter Gilmour beat Torvar Mirsky in the quarter-finals. Gilly couldn’t overhaul Minoprio to win it by then, but instead, he stopped the man who could.” With so many permutations and possible final results still to be decided, the following table gives a simple overview of who needs to do what to become the new ISAF Match Racing World Champion: Skipper Current Points 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th + Richard 105 143 135 127 123 120 117 114 111 105 Minoprio 90 128 120 112 108 105 102 99 96 90 Ainslie 88 126 118 110 106 103 100 97 94 88 Mirsky 76 114 106 98 94 91 88 85 82 76 Williams 72 110 102 94 90 87 84 81 78 72   Richard wins the title if he: • Comes 1st or 2nd • Comes 3rd - as long as Minoprio doesn’t win • Comes 4th or 5th - as long as neither Minoprio or Ainslie win • Comes 6th or 7th - as long as neither Minoprio or Ainslie are in the final • Comes 8th - as long as Minoprio doesn’t come in the top three and Ainslie doesn’t come in the top 2 Minoprio wins the title if he: • Comes 1st - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 2 • Comes 2nd - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 5 and Ainslie doesn’t win • Comes 3rd - as long as Richard comes 8th or lower, Ainslie comes 4th or lower, and Mirsky doesn’t win • Comes 4th - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 8, Ainslie doesn’t come in the top 4, and neither Williams or Mirsky win Ainslie wins the title if he: • Comes 1st - as long as Richard doesn’t come in the top 3. • Comes 2nd - as long as Minoprio doesn’t win, and Richard doesn’t come in the top 5. • Comes 3rd - as long as Mirsky doesn’t win, Minoprio doesn’t come in the top 3, and Richard doesn’t score any points • Comes 4th - as long as Richard doesn’t score, Minoprio doesn’t come in the top 4, and neither Williams or Mirsky win Mirsky wins the title if he: • Wins the Monsoon Cup - as long as neither Ainslie nor Minoprio come in the top 2, and Richard doesn’t finish higher than 8th Williams wins the title if he: • Wins the Monsoon Cup, as long as neither Ainslie nor Minoprio finish on the podium and Richard finishes outside the top 8       2010-11-23T11:08:30+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/lets_talk_teamorigin_e_news_november_2010/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/lets_talk_teamorigin_e_news_november_2010/#When:15:42:25Z LET'S TALK TEAMORIGIN ENEWS NOVEMBER 2010   READ THE LATEST TEAM NEWSLETTER : http://www.mainsail.co.uk/newsletters/nov2010.html 2010-11-02T15:42:25+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_2nd_on_isaf_world_match_race_ranking_list/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ben_ainslie_2nd_on_isaf_world_match_race_ranking_list/#When:08:13:39Z ISAF World Match Race Rankings  The top three skippers on the open rankings remain the same with this ranking release, with Adam Minoprio (NZL) holding off the advances of Ben Ainslie. The real action is in the women's rankings where Nicky Souter (AUS) returns to the #1 position ahead of 2010 World Champion Lucy MacGregor (GBR). Since the last rankings release, ISAF has crowned a new Women's Match Racing World Champion and the climax of the 2010 World Match Racing Tour is right on the horizon. Open Rankings The gap between Adam Minoprio and Ben Ainslie has closed slightly after Ainslie defended his Argo Group Gold Cup title in Bermuda. Mathieu Richard (FRA) maintains his position in third overall ahead of Australia's Torvar Mirsky while Peter Gilmour (AUS) displaces Ian Williams (GBR) to complete the top five. The World Match Racing Tour now moves to Malaysia for the final event of the season, the Monsoon Cup where all eyes will be on Richard, Minoprio and Ainslie all within striking distance of the World Championship title. There are no Grade 1 Open events included in this release and just one Grade 2 event, the Master Espana Match Race. #7 ranked sailor Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) took the title in Bayona but does not change his ranking position. Women's Rankings The bronze medal for Nicky Souter at the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships has proved enough to boost her back to the #1 position but it is by the smallest of margins. The new world champion, Lucy is snapping at her heels just eight points behind. Claire Leroy (FRA) went out to Souter in the petit-final but was back on the top of the podium to claim her National Championship title; she slips one place down to #3. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) moves up one place to #4 while previous #1, Renee Groeneveld, who finished in seventh at the Worlds slides down to #5. Silver medallist Sally Barkow (USA) makes her return to the top ten at #9. Feeling the effects of not competing at the Worlds is Silke Hahlbrock (GER) who falls out of the top ten, five places to #13. The next release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings will be on 8 December 2010. Top ten open rankings 1. Adam Minoprio, NZL 2. Ben Ainslie, GBR 3. Mathieu Richard, FRA 4. Torvar Mirsky, AUS 5. Peter Gilmour, AUS 6. Ian Williams, GBR 7. Pierre-Antoine Morvan, FRA 8. Bjorn Hansen, SWE 9. Francesco Bruni, ITA 10. Peter Wibroe, DEN Top ten women's rankings 1. Nicky Souter, AUS 2. Lucy Macgregor, GBR 3. Claire Leroy, FRA 4. Anna Tunnicliffe, USA 5. Renee Groeneveld, NED 6. Ekaterina Skudina, RUS 7. Katie Spithill, AUS 8. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA 9. Sally Barkow, USA 10. Julie Bossard, FRA  www.sailing.org 2010-10-28T08:13:39+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ainslie_determined_to_take_gold/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/ainslie_determined_to_take_gold/#When:15:19:54Z AINSLIE 'DETERMINED' TO TAKE GOLD By Helen William, Press Association Olympics Correspondent Ben Ainslie does not think he is the hot pick, at the moment, to qualify for Britain's sole spot in the Finn for the London 2012 Olympics. Ainslie is Britain's most successful Olympic sailor with three gold medals and a silver to his name - and he is determined to win a fourth successive gold at London 2012. His domestic challenge comes not just from Finn world champion Ed Wright and world bronze medalist Giles Scott, who beat Ainslie in the Sail for Gold regatta. There is also his fight for fitness following two years away from the Finn after his, now scuppered, dream to win the America's Cup with Team Origin. "They might obviously be seen as the favourites at the moment and I have really got to catch up," he said. "I think that is just being realistic having been out of the chase for two years. "It is is also from having done Sail for Gold and coming fourth. "With the right amount of training I think I can get back to where I was." Since winning gold in Beijing, Ainslie, 33, has been concentrating on big boats while rivals Wright, 33, and Scott, 23, have broken through internationally as powerhouses in the heavyweight dinghy. Ainslie said: "Qualification - they are always hard. "They (Wright and Scott) are obviously working really hard and have been sailing well." For all three men 2011 will be a key year to competing at the Olympics on home waters in Weymouth and Portland in 2012. Wright, who this month was shortlisted for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year award, has already declared that Olympic qualification and the world championship are top priorities for next year. Ainslie's absence has coincided with Wright proving himself as one of the heavy-hitters of the Finn class able to pull out top performance after top performance. Wright is respected as one of the fittest sailors in the fleet. He relishes the power of the Finn and the technical challenges of the class. Scott won Britain's only gold out of a total of eight medals at this year's Sail for Gold and in doing so ended Ainslie's six-year unbeaten run in the Olympic Finn class. Beating Ainslie was "massive," Scott admitted, but it also showed he could win in the conditions that Weymouth, the 2012 sailing competition venue, throws up. Working towards selection is going to be really difficult but Sail for Gold undoubtedly helped with his confidence, he said. Ainslie's plans could see him back in the Finn "by November at the earliest" as he focuses on sailing fitness and boosting his body weight. Training and hitting the gym, plus more time in the boat to try and improve ahead of racing next year, are the single-minded aims for this winter. Ainslie said: "The hard thing from when you have gone from being at the top of sailing to not being involved for a couple of years is that period when you are doing the hard work and trying to get back to the top but you are not performing as you used to. "I know that this winter is going to be a lot of hard work, very hard work. "For me I have got a lot of catching up (to do) and I have got to work harder." It is not just fitness that he has to tackle but the right sort of fitness, he notes. "I have not really been away from the sport. I have been doing more sailing over the last two years but in different types of boats," he said. "For me, more fitness is going to be a really big thing and I need to get my weight up." The enforced switch from big boat duty with Team Origin back to Olympic sailing comes after a controversial raft of new ideas and rules by America's Cup winners BMW Oracle. Team Origin team principal Sir Keith Mills, pulled his crew out of a much-longed for challenge for 34th America's Cup in 2013, declaring it was now "neither viable commercially, nor an attractive sporting contest for Team Origin". Ainslie skippered the team which also included Britain's Beijing champions Iain Percy at the helm and Andrew Simpson as strategist. He said: "It was slowly building up to a point where I would have to make a very difficult decision between the Olympics and the America's Cup. "Now this has happened this gives me a clear shot on working over the next 12 months and working hard to get in to the Finn." But there is still huge disappointment about the America's Cup. "It is frustrating, very frustrating for myself and everyone else who has spent the past three years working very hard to get Team Origin to a position where we could challenge for the America's Cup. "We felt that we had got it to that point," Ainslie said. "Sir Keith felt that would not be something that would be viable. He is not the kind of guy to play games. We understand his view and respect his experience and his decision. I know in speaking to the other guys that everyone feels that way about the decision. "It is disappointing for everyone involved. It is a sad time for everyone, but especially for Sir Keith." He suggests that his time on the big boats and on the match racing tour, away from the regimented life of training for the Olympics, has made him a better sailor. Perhaps ominously, he adds: "I certainly learned a lot more sailing in the America's Cup, in the big boats and the TP52s. "You learn a lot more about the racing and the technical side of the sport and that all helps because it is refreshing.  "I am really determined to go back in the Finn." 2010-10-25T15:19:54+00:00 http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/a_celebration_through_imagery/ http://www.teamorigin.com/en/media_centre/detail/a_celebration_through_imagery/#When:09:55:02Z 2010-10-25T09:55:02+00:00