The first of the three days of regattas of the 36th “Trofeo Marco Rizzotti – International Optimist Class Team Race Venezia”, organized by the Compagnia della Vela and Diporto Velico Veneziano, started on Friday under the sun.
An international invitational regatta, aimed at teams for the Optimist class, which will be held until Sunday outside the harbor entrance of the Lido of Venice.
It is one of the most prestigious team regattas in the world reserved for young people aged 10 to 15, which this year sees 18 teams competing to win the trophy won last year by the USA with Team Happy.
About ninety young people met on Friday at the opening briefing at the “Ottavio Ghetti” Competitive Sports Center from the Sailing Company in Punta Sabbioni in the municipality of Cavallino Treporti, nautical base and event secretariat.
The 18 registered crews, representing 12 countries from three continents, after having entered the water on the lagoon side, went to the regatta field located along the Cavallino coast.
60 matches were held on the first day, with an average wind of between 6/7 knots which allowed the regattas to run smoothly. Each team is made up of 5 sailors, of which 4 are competing and one reserve.
The Rizzotti Trophy applies the Italian-style group formula, or Round Robin, where each team faces all the others. This allows the young athletes to be at sea and compete with each other until the end of the regattas.
5 teams dominated the first day, starting from last year’s winner Team Happy – USA, together with those from Croatia, Slovenia, Sweden and for Italy the Bardolino Nautical Centre.
The other two days of regatta will take place on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th May, concluding with the awards ceremony at the Camping Village Marina in Venice.
PARTICIPANTS
18 teams, 15 of which are international, 72 boats competing, 18 dinghies with coaches, 6 dinghies with 2 referees each to follow every single match of the 153 scheduled, with departures approximately every 3 minutes.
1 CRYC CORAL REEF YC – USA
2 FENERBACHE SK ISTANBUL – TURKEY
3 KBYC KEY BISCAYNE – USA
4 TEAM HAPPY – USA
5 FRANCE – National Team
6 THAILAND – National Team
7 CLUB NAUTIC CAMBRILS – SPAIN
8 SWISS GYC – SWITZERLAND
9 RYC MONACO – MONACO
10 SLOVENIA – National Team
11 CROATIA – National Team
12 STSM TRIESTE – ITALY
13 BARDOLINO NAUTICAL CENTER – ITALY
14 XII VENETO AREA – ITALY
15 PUERTO RICO – National Team
The referee team is made up of 12 referees (Umpires) of the highest technical profile, as are the eight members of the Race Committee. The results and rankings are visible in real time on our website Live Results – 36th Marco Rizzotti Trophy (rizzottisail.it) and on the social media of the Rizzotti trophy.
The young participants are hosted in the Camping Village Marina di Venezia in Punta Sabbioni, which for the occasion becomes a small Olympic village.
PRIZES
The prizes up for grabs are the “Marco Rizzotti” Challenge Trophy for the overall first place, which the 2023 winning team USA Team Happy will bring back to Venice with the intention of defending it.
The two “Fair Play” plates of the Panathlon Club of Venice in memory of Giampaolo Righetti will reward the two teams that performed best on the regatta field and on land and the Giorgio Lauro Memorial Cup which will go to the youngest sailor of the regatta. While three glass cups will be awarded to the first three classified crews.
HISTORY
Marco Rizzotti was for many years Sports Director of the Youth Sector of Venetian Sailing and President of the Northern Adriatic Zone of the Italian Sailing Federation. When he passed away in 1985, the Club decided to name a trophy in his memory for an Optimist regatta which, since 1996, has taken on the “team racing” formula. Marco has always played a role as a promoter of youth sailing, teaching athletes a behavior of loyalty and sportsmanship which will hopefully accompany them throughout life. Thanks to: the Port System of the Northern Adriatic Sea, APV Investimenti, Camping Village Marina di Venezia, Venice Boat Show, Alilaguna, Hotel Ca’ di Valle, Vela, Assicurazioni Generali Agency of Venice San Marco, GP Pellegrini, Despar Supermarket of Camping Village Marina di Venezia, K4 Solutions, Ducale srl,.
Elena Magro
Press Office
Rizzotti Trophy
