The young men sailed to La Grande Motte

From the 8th to the 14th of May, the Mediterranean Training Center – Pôle France Voile will host in La Grande Motte the Youth Gold Cup.

Head to Hérault for young sailing talents. This is the first time that France has reached a stage of the Youth Gold Cup, a prestigious international circuit dedicated to young athletes under the age of 25, where La Grande Motte and CEM have been chosen to host Chapter 2 of the 2023 season with Miami (USA), Kingston (Canada), Torbole (Italy) and Barcelona (Spain).

For a week, 12 mixed crews, that’s 48 contestants, will battle it out in front of the pyramids of La Grande Motte, aboard fast and awe-inspiring monocoques. And it’s a very international squad – 9 nations represented – who will compete for podium spots in this Act 2. Canadians, New Zealanders, Germans, Dutch, Americans, Italians, Swiss, Poles and French (3 crews) will be in the running, for some, high stakes in parallel.

48 runners ready for battle

The unions have already approached 69F, a 3- or 4-man monohull, for the upcoming America’s Cup (August-October 2024 in Barcelona) as selection support and preparation for the Youth and Women’s America’s Cups. Many of the bands at La Grande Motte are part of this programme. This is the case for the two Italian groups, Luna Rossa 1 and 2, but also for the Dutch, New Zealand, German and, on the French side, Team France. On the French side we will also find Norman from Helvetia, as well as the “locals” from Groupe Atlantic who train all year round at La Grande Motte (second on the track in 2022), and are among the favorites in the event..

The regatta will take place in the Natural Maritime Stadium in front of La Grande Motte’s eastern breakwater, allowing the public to see the 69Fs develop from the jetty or Jacques Chirac promenade. On land, the teams and boats would be grouped together near the ramp, on the western pier.