AMERICA’S CUP LEGACY ATTRACTS WORLD CLASS EVENTS TO SAUDI ARABIA

The Saudi Sailing Federation and its partner Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina have announced
three major events and a new sporting team initiative to continue the growth of sailing
participation and performance in Saudi Arabia and to demonstrate that Jeddah is a major
global sailing destination.
The 2024 Women’s Match Racing World Championship, the 2024 Youth Match Racing
World Championship and the Red Sea 600 will all take place from Jeddah Yacht Club &
Marina in November and December 2024.
A performance partnership with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will fast-track the
development of a Saudi women’s team and a Saudi youth team, both of whom will
compete against the best in the world in the World Championships.
These exciting new initiatives come on the back of the America's Cup Pre-Regatta that
took place in Jeddah in December 2023. The introduction of the world's oldest
international sporting trophy and the most prestigious sailing event to Jeddah was
designed to accelerate the growth of the sport in the Kingdom and 48,000 people
gathered at Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina and on the Corniche to witness the action.
Samia Bagdady, CEO of the Saudi Sailing Federation said:
"We are growing on the successes we saw from the America's Cup Pre-Regatta last year.
These three new events and the collaboration with the Royal New Zealand Yacht
Squadron will take place in the second half of 2024 and will again shine a spotlight on the
sport of sailing in Saudi Arabia. We are committed to the continued rise of Saudi Arabia as
a positive force in international sailing. Notably, Saudi women will compete in the
Women's Match Racing World Championship, which is a historic milestone. Our young
Saudi sailors will compete against the world’s best young sailors in the Youth Match
Racing World Championship and will learn a tremendous amount from the experience.
Furthermore, an exciting new offshore race - the Red Sea 600 - will be open to all sailors
both local and international.”



Grant Dalton CEO of America's Cup Events said:
"The Pre-Regatta in Jeddah last year was an amazing event. We had fantastic racing on
the Red Sea, the wind blew, the sun shone, the crowds were great, and we had a fantastic
welcome from the Ministry of Sport and the Saudi Sailing Federation. Our plan was
always to leave a positive sailing footprint in Saudi. Our aim was to use the Cup to inspire
Saudis to get out on the water and to show the global sailing community what a great
place it is to go sailing. These latest initiatives by the Saudi Sailing Federation and Jeddah
Yacht Club & Marina are a clear demonstration of the positive impact the America's Cup
has had on the region."
Alrayan Gadouri, Head of Venues at Sela, the organisation behind Jeddah Yacht Club and
Marina commented on the collaboration with Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron:
"The fabulous facilities and great sailing conditions available at Jeddah Yacht Club &
Marina are an obvious attraction to world class event organisers. We will continue to show
the world of sailing that Jeddah is a great place to host major regattas or hold
high-performance training camps. The JYC Academy has world-class sailing facilities and
with mentoring and coaching through our new collaboration with the Royal New Zealand
Yacht Club we are confident that Saudi women and youth sailors will rapidly progress and
compete at international level. Furthermore we have created the Red Sea 600 race to
allow local and international sailors to compete off-shore along the stunning Red Sea
coastline.”
David Graham, CEO of World Sailing said:
"World Sailing is responsible for the development of the sport around the world and
increasing participation and skill levels in new regions like Saudi is fundamental to our
strategy."
The inaugural Red Sea 600 has been created by the partnership between Saudi Sailing
Federation and Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina as the first offshore race on the Red Sea. It
starts on 23rd November and is for yachts of up to 100ft length overall and catamarans up
to 70ft. Details and the Notice of Race are here: https://www.redsea600.com/
The World Sailing Youth Match Racing World Championship will be from 29th November
to 2nd December and is open to competitors who will be under the age of 23 on 31
December 2024. Crews consist of four or five members, and include at least one female
and one male sailor, with a total weight limit of 350kg.
The Women’s Match Racing World Championship will be from 5th to the 8th December.