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6:10 PM Tue 3 Mar 2009 GMT
The 40th edition of the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE, to be held from 4 to 10 April in the bay of Palma, has generated great expectation following its inclusion in the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
Following the Melbourne and Miami regattas, this new Sailing Cup will have its debut in Europe with the Majorcan regatta, sponsored for fourth consecutive year by Spanish leading insurance company MAPFRE and organised by four Clubs of the bay of Palma de Mallorca: Club N?utic S'Arenal, Real Club N?utico de Palma, Club Mar?timo San Antonio de la Playa and Escuela Nacional de Vela de Calanova.
With only a month and a half to go for the beginning of the third regatta of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE is registering the first entries at a shaking rhythm.
Up to now, over 250 teams and almost 400 competitors have already entered the most important Olympic classes' regatta in Spain. The Sofia will be a trial event for the RFEV pre-Olympic team together with the Semana Ol?mpica de Andaluc?a - Regata de Carnaval that starts in Cadiz on Thursday.
But the most surprising figure is found in the number of participating nations.Forty nations are already represented on the entry lists of this 40th edition of the event. Competitors from all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, USA and Oceania will meet in the bay of Palma at Easter.
Nine Olympic disciplines will take part in the regatta (all except for the Women's Match racing that has been cancelled due to the lack of information on the expected number of participating teams) as well as the Paralympic 2.4mR and the Dragon as invited class.
The largest number of entries is registered in the Laser Standard (59) followed by the 470 Men (34) and the Laser Radial (32). The following categories in the ranking are the 49er (29) and Finn (28).
The organisation of the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE invites the 2008 Olympics Games three Olympic medallists in each class as well as the first, second and third classified at the 2008 World and European championships.
The Consortium Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a, the managing body of the Majorcan regatta which welcomes this year car firm 'Opel' as new collaborator, has distributed the classes among the four organising clubs as follows:
470 M&W F, Finn and 49er in Club N?utic S'Arenal
Star and Dragon in Real Club N?utico de Palma
RS:X M & W, Laser Standard & Laser Radial in Club Mar?timo San Antonio de la Playa
Paralympic class 2.4mR in Escuela Nacional de Vela de Calanova.
ISAF Sailing World Cup
It is the launching season of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, formed by the seven most important events in the world, with the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE, Spain, among them.
Following Sail Melbourne (Australia, December) and the Rolex Miami OCR (USA, January), the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE marks the staring point of the European season in which we will begin to see the leaders of this World Cup, with individual standing and a Nations Cup.
The Sofia will be followed by the Semaine Olympique Fran?aise (Hy?res, April), the Delta Lloyd Regatta (Holland, May) and Kieler Woche (Germany, June), to end with the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta (Weymouth, Great Britain, September), the sailing venue of the 2012 London Olympics.
Besides the four clubs, the organisers of the regatta are the Real Federaci?n Espa?ola de Vela and the Federaci?n Balear de Vela, together with the Govern de les Illes Balears, the Consell de Mallorca and Palma and Llucmajor city councils.
The collaborators of the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sof?a MAPFRE are the Ports Authority, Ports de les Illes Balears, the coastal demarcation of the Ministry of Environment and companies Ultramar Express and Acciona, as well as Opel, this year's new collaborator.
by Event media
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