The world’s best match racing sailors outside of Valencia are preparing for the Congressional Cup, presented by Acura, taking place May 15-19 at California’s Long Beach YC. Although several top players will be involved in the Louis Vuitton Cup at the same time, the Congressional Cup remains a Grade 1 event on the strength of the individual competitors’ ISAF rankings. France’s Mathieu Richard, No. 3 in the world, heads the list, which also features the first participants from Russia (Eugeniy Neugodnikov, No. 7, and Andrew Arbuzov, No. 24) and Poland (Przemek Tarnacki, No. 39). The complete list of entrants, in order of rankings: Mathieu Richard, France, No. 3Eugeniy Neugodnikov, Russia, No. 7Damien Iehl, France, No. 12Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, No. 14Simon Minoprio, New Zealand, No. 17Martin Angsell, Sweden, No. 23Andrew Arbuzov, Russia, No. 24Brian Angel, Redondo Beach, Calif., No. 34Przemek Tarnacki, Poland, No. 39Scott Dickson, Long Beach, No. 87.
