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30 / 10 / 2011
20 years Berlin Match Race - how it all began
1992: Two of the oldest German sailing clubs were facing their great day. Long passed, the magical mark of 100, it is 125 years ago that the Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee and the Berliner Yacht Club were founded. The question of how to celebrate this proud anniversary had a typical answer: A joint regatta. For the unique nature of this race, prominent members of both clubs, Achim Kadelbach (VSaW) and Peter Barnikow (BYC) had a common idea: A match race of its own kind. On their initiative, this idea has been improved and refined, till it was ready to be launched. All Olympic Sailors of 1992 got invited and other top sailors of Berlin joined the field of competitors. The first winner of the Berlin Match Race was the two-time Olympic Gold medalist Jochen Schümann. He was the first to win the bronze trophy, which has been created by the Greek sculptor Chatziioannidis Fotis and casted in the Berlin workshop of Hermann Noack.
This Berliner Jochen Schümann, later went on to add five more victories. This record has not been beaten by any other participant of the Berlin Match Race. The resonance of this event shines far beyond the membership of both clubs to the sailing community of Berlin, including the media. The consequence: the match race at the Wannsee became a fixed institution in the match race regatta calendar. This year the race will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The Berlin Match Race has been upgraded to a "Grade One Event" in 2008 by the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) and in doing so, entered the Champions League in this class of sailing. The stars of this race are very loyal to the Berlin Match Race, which is the key to the long lasting success. They enjoy the personal but fine series with the flair of a capital city and family atmosphere.
