A hive of activities returns to Pulau Duyong as preparation for the Asian Match Racing Championships (AMRC) gets underway here.
AMRC, which opens the month-long match racing season in Pulau Duyong will start on Monday, November 9, with a practice session for competing teams. The first race will be flagged off on Tuesday and the final is scheduled for November 12. The competition is an important qualifying round for the Monson Cup in December. The winner will win a ticket to compete in the Monsoon Cup, which is the final leg of the World Match Racing Championship (WMRT).
“We have lowered eight boats into the waters of Pulau Duyong on Wednesday to prepare for the race. We are actually ahead of schedule in term of boat preparation for the race,” said David Mills, Yacht manager at Monsoon Cup.
“The sunny breaks over the last two days have enabled us to complete most of the job on time. My team has been working long hours to ensure all the main facilities are in tip-top condition for the race,” he said.
Some of the teams have started arriving in Pulau Duyong today for registration and to familiarize themselves with the surrounding of the purpose-built marina complex and resorts. Most teams will arrive on Sunday.
Umpires for the race are also expected to arrive on Sunday morning for a Race Committee meeting. Monsoon Cup will seek the assistance of four umpires to adjudicate the race. They are Keith Swinton and Torvar Mirsky from Australia, Elizabeth Rountree from the United States of America and Anoushca D' Souza from India.
The AMRC will see a total of seven teams competing in a round robin preliminary round. Four top teams will then compete in a sudden-death semi-final with the top two teams to race against each other to win the ticket to compete in the Monsoon Cup in December.
