(Arendal, Norway)- The fourth and final act of the Norwegian J/70
Sailing League took place off the picturesque harbor of Arendal,
Norway. Winning the final event was Asgardstrand Sailing Club.
However, it was Risor Sailing Club’s consistency through all four events
(Bodo- 4th, Molde- 1st, Larvik- 2nd, Arendal- 3rd) that enabled them to
finish the last regatta in third place and handily clinch the season
championship for the Norwegian League with just 10 pts total. Their crew
for the finale included Mads and Tomas Mathisen, Morten Røisland and
Regine Tronstad.
In
the Arendal regatta, Åsgårdstrand Sailing Association (with Jostein
Grødem, Karl Otto Book, Trym Markussen and Lena Louise Vinje-Christensen
on board) nearly ran the table on the fleet, posting seven 1sts and
three 2nds in ten races to easily win the event. Their performance
vaulted them up the season standings into 5th place. Brevik Sailing
Club’s second place enabled them to breathe a sigh of relief, earning
them the silver medal for the season championship. Finally, RAN Sailing
Club’s 5th place enabled them to hold onto the bronze medal on the
podium for the season. 
"There
is no doubt that the level in the elite series has increased
tremendously this season. It is no longer possible to come with an
inexperienced crew or to trust in a good helmsman. In order to have a
good team, you have to be focused on the competition in the sailing
sport league, the teams get better every year, it is incredibly
competitive,” said Magnus Hedemark, who is Project Manager for the
Norwegian Seilsports League.Like the other rounds of the sailing sport league, the finals in Arendal were also transferred directly to Facebook. Magne Klann and Thomas Nilsson conveyed what they observed with photos, videos, and the SAP SAILING graphics.
"We
had four times as many viewers on our Facebook page than the average in
the previous rounds. One of the reasons is, of course, that it was the
final round. But, the interest has been increasing. Not least because
the associations and sailors participating have been good at sharing on
Facebook. We have now become a "community" that works very well,” said
Hedemark, who hopes to be able to professionalize the sailing sport
league further next year."The goal is to be the leader and an example of how the sport of league sailing can be communicated and displayed in Norway," he said.
“There is such strong interest in the Norwegian J/70 League that an additional half-dozen sailing clubs have requested to participate. As a result, after the season this year, we will sell this year's five league boats to interested associations and we have received several inquiries from associations interested in buying, which indicates that both interest and ambitions are growing around sailing Norway," said Hedemark. “For next year's sailing season there will be five new J/70s that will be added to our fleet!” Follow the Norwegian J/70 Sailing League here on Facebook For more Norwegian J/70 Sailing League information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
|
