The 57th annual Congressional Cup, a prestigious five-day sailing competition dubbed the “granddaddy” of modern match racing, will make its return to the waters off Long Beach this week.
The Congressional Cup, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, continues a busy sporting April for the city. It will take place about a week-and-a-half after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach took over downtown. And this past weekend, the city hosted the annual Ficker Cup, a lower-tier match racing competition that acts as a qualifier for the Congressional Cup.
The Congressional Cup will run from Tuesday to Saturday, April 19-23.
Mayor Robert Garcia and the Long Beach Yacht Club will kick off this year’s competition with a ribbon-cutting to rededicate the waters just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier and rename the area as Congressional Cup Stadium. Those waters are where the cup’s races have traditionally been held.
The Congressional Cup, which the Long Beach Yacht Club founded in 1965, is the longest running event of its kind in North America.
Jeffrey Petersen’s crew works in a Congressional Cup match earlier this month. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Grunion Gazette, SCNG)
Jeffrey Petersen leads the way during this Congressional Cup match. (Photo by Jo Murray, Grunion Gazette/SCNG)
Surrounded by his crew at the Long Beach Yacht Club on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, Taylor Canfield sports the traditional crimson jacket and holds the trophy for winning this year’s Congressional Cup. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Team Canfield crosses the finish line ahead of Team Berntsson on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021 to win he Congressional Cup in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Team Berntsson comes close to Team Canfield on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021 in the Congressional Cup finals in Long Beach. Taylor Canfield’s crew won the race for the fifth time. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Chris Poole’s team competes Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 in the Congressional Cup off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach. The five-day regatta, hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, concludes Sunday. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Walter MacFarlane, back, and Johnie Berntsson racing in the Jr. Congressional Cup. (Courtesy Long Beach Yacht Club)
Racing begins for the 56th Congressional Cup hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Teams Durant and Berntsson racing in the 56th Congressional Cup hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Teams compete in the Ficker Cup, a World Tour WS grade 2 qualifier event for Congressional Cup in Long Beach on Friday, September 10, 2021. The Ficker Cup is a four day event hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Team Poole on boat 6 during the 56th Congressional Cup hosted by the Long Beach Yacht Club, in the waters off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Day three of competition in the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup held off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach on Friday, April 5, 2019. At the start of the day team Berntsson is in the lead winning 11 of their races. The Congressional Cup will return to Long Beach Yacht Club for its 56th year in September 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Ian Williams keeps a lead over Scott Dickson in the finals of the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup race Sunday, April 7, 2019. Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Action from Sunday at the Congressional Cup.
Crew members guide the skippers through a tight start of the consolation fleet race which started the events Sunday at the 50th Congressional Cup in Long Beach April 10,2014. The Congressional Cup will return to Long Beach Yacht Club for its 56th year in September 2021. (Michael Goulding, Orange County Register/SCNG)
With spinnakers out the fleet race heads for the finish line with the skyline of Long Beach as the background at the start of the 50th Congressional Cup Sunday, April 10, 2014. The Congressional Cup will return to Long Beach Yacht Club for its 56th year in September 2021. (Michael Goulding, Orange County Register/SCNG)
World Match Racing Tour, Congressional Cup, Long Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach, CA, USA. 31st March 2017. (Courtesy Congressional Cup)
Ian Williams take a victory lap next to the Belmont Pier after winning the Long Beach Yacht Club Congrssional Cup Sunday, April 7, 2019. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
It’s a champagne celebration for the crew of Ian Williams boat after winning the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup Sunday, April 7, 2019. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Scott Dickson waves to the crowd on the pier in his victory lap after taking second place in the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup Sunday, April 7, 2019. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
It set the standard for top-level match racing worldwide, according to the LBYC’s website, and draws top-ranked sailors from around the world to vie for the prestigious Congressional Cup trophy and the crimson blazer — a coveted jacket akin to the green jacket golfers receive for winning the Masters Tournament.
This year’s competition will feature 10 teams from five different countries, the LBYC said, including defending champion and five-time Congressional Cup winner Taylor Canfield, with Team Stars+StripesUSA.
“We cannot get enough of this event,” Canfield said in a press release. “We are looking forward to another one.”
Next week’s competition will kick off the 2022 World Match Racing Tour, the longest running professional series in the sport of sailing. This year’s Congressional Cup will also launch LBYC’s build-up to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the club said.
The Catalina 37s keelboats willbe on the water on Monday for practice. The competition will begin in earnest on Tuesday, with a double round robin series that will continue through the week. The final matches are set for the weekend, April 22 and 23.
“This format fuels excitement, as the players dial in the boats, tune in to conditions, and sharpen their skills,” the LBYC said. “The rousing competition delights both racers and fans, who can watch the combat from the Belmont Pier.”
The pier will be open to all those who want to watch the races for free.
The races will also be livestreamed on the Long Beach Congressional Cup Facebook page.
More information about the event is available on the LBYC’s website, lbyc.org.
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