SailGP’s race management have made the call to move to group racing for the Canada Sail Grand Prix | Halifax in light of the forecast and course conditions.
This format helps reduce congestion on a tight racecourse, ensuring safe, competitive racing while maintaining SailGP’s high-performance racing standards.
The group racing format made its debut in Auckland in February, and will be implemented again this weekend with forecasters predicting gusts of up to 40 km/h in Halifax Harbour.
How the group racing format works
The fleet will be divided into two groups, Group A and Group B – based on the season leaderboard, with teams placed in groups from the top of the leaderboard down (ABBA).
The groups will be as follows:
- Group A: AUS🇦🇺|ESP🇪🇸|FRA🇫🇷|DEN🇩🇰|CAN🇨🇦|BRA🇧🇷|NZL🇳🇿
- Group B: GBR🇬🇧|USA🇺🇸|SWE🇸🇪 |GER🇩🇪|ITA🇮🇹|SUI🇨🇭
Points are awarded within each group on a 5-4-3-2-1-0 scale.
On Saturday, each group will contest three fleet races if conditions allow – six fleet races in total. On Sunday, each group will compete in additional qualifying fleet races – two per group, forecast dependent – followed by a winner-takes-all four-boat Final.
Teams carry forward their points from day one into Sunday’s racing with points for each group being added to a team’s cumulative score from Saturday in one cumulative leaderboard for the weekend.
The top four teams – determined by the top two in each group – will advance to the winner-takes-all Final. As always in SailGP, the winner of the Final wins the event, with finishing order determining positions one through four in the final.
Determining the final four by the top two teams in each group (rather than one cumulative leaderboard) ensures fairness and avoids equal tie breaks.
What this means for racing
The format is designed to support competitive racing on a tight course, while maintaining SailGP’s high-performance standards and broadcast delivery.
Splitting the fleet reduces congestion at certain places in the course, especially at the start and mark roundings.
Fans can expect four group races on Sunday, plus the winner-takes-all Final – clearer head-to-head match-ups and the same decisive, first-across-the-line outcome that defines SailGP events.
Standard SailGP tie-break procedures apply if required, awarding the team which finished better most recently, starting with the last group race of the day and working backward if necessary.
