The Student Yachting World Cup (SYWoC) is an annual sailing competition for students which was created in 1979 and is held in France.
36th edition
The 36th edition of the Student Yachting World Cup took place in
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...
, France. The competitors sailed from November 2 to November 7 on Grand Surprise class sailboats.
The Student Yachting World Cup
The SYWoC is an annual sailing competition organized by students at the
École Polytechnique
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
, a French engineering school, seeing the world's best student sailing teams confront each other in a week-long series of races. Every year, the SYWoC takes place around
All Saints' Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...
and gather about 200 students in a large French harbour. Earlier editions have taken place in La Rochelle, Lorient, Royan, Marseille, La Trinité-sur-Mer, Toulon.
Each country can be represented one team. This team is chosen on the basis of its national or international races, as well as on advice from the national sailing federation. The winner of the last edition and the Ecole Polytechnique, organizing university, are also invited.
The World Cup is composed of several regattas, usually between 10 and 15, taking place during the whole week. The crews sail on Grand Surprise, a profile boat built for competition. The regattas are of "banana" or coastal type. A night regatta, starting in the afternoon and ending after nightfall, is also organised during the competition. An international jury arbitrate the regattas.
Two prizes are awarded every year:
* AGPM Trophy: Besides the general ranking, the competition provides an “inshore” ranking, determined from the inshore races. The winner of the ranking is awarded the AGPM trophy.
* Student Yachting World Cup: the winner of the regattas is awarded the Student Yachting World Cup which he shall bring back into play for the following edition.
History
The Student Yachting World Cup, former Course de l'Europe, has been organized since 1979 by students at the
École Polytechnique
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
. Each year, the best sailing teams from universities all around the world meet and compete in thrilling yacht races.
When the "Course de l'Europe" was created in 1979, only a few European countries participated. Other teams have joined in, from Eastern Europe, Japan, the United States or Australia, thus making it a real World Cup.
The race changed its name to "Student Yachting World Cup" and became the only competition to deliver the ISAF title of "Student Yachting World Champion". Today, between 15 and 20 teams, from Europe, America, Asia and Australia, compete each year for the title.
Past winners
External links
*
Ecole Polytechnique institutional website
{{Offshore sailing races
Annual sporting events in France
1979 establishments in France
Collegiate sailing competitions
ParisTech
Recurring sporting events established in 1979
Sailing competitions in France