SailGP: Canadian team to join competition for Season 3
The team from Canada are the second new outfit to join SailGP for Season 3, following the announcement that a team from Switzerland will also be on the start-line; every race day of Season 2 is live on Sky Sports with events in Australia and the USA still to come
Last Updated: 20/10/21 2:32pm
SailGP has announced that a team from Canada will join the global league for Season 3, which starts in May 2022.
This is the league's second expansion franchise to be announced, with Canada joining Switzerland on the start-line for next season, and confirms the expansion of the league from eight teams in Season 2 to 10 in Season 3.
The franchise of the Canada SailGP Team is owned by innovative businessman and investment entrepreneur, and lifelong sailor, Fred Pye. The drivers behind the team will be to expand the sport in Canada and promote a pathway into high-performance sailing in Canada.
"My vision is to create a catalyst for the growth of sailing in Canada that makes a generational impact on our community and provides an aspirational goal for our athletes to represent our country internationally," Pye said.
"I invested in SailGP because I believe it represents the future of the sport - with its commitment to environmental sustainability, clean-energy and social impact - and the racing is incredibly entertaining and accessible."
Featuring the sport's best athletes, Canada will join teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the United States in Season 3, which will span from 2022 to 2023 and comprise of 10 events.
SailGP was launched in 2018 and is currently in the closing stages of its second season, with two more events in Sydney and San Francisco remaining before Season 2's champion is crowned.
SailGP Season 2 - Championship standings
| Position and team | Helm | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Australia | Tom Slingsby | 45 |
| 2. United States | Jimmy Spithill | 44 |
| 3. Japan | Nathan Outteridge | 44 |
| 4. Great Britain | Sir Ben Ainslie | 40 |
| 5. New Zealand | Peter Burling | 36 |
| 6. Spain | Phil Robertson | 35 |
| 7. Denmark | Nicolai Sehested | 33 |
| 8. France | Quentin Delapierre | 31 |
With the two new expansion franchises, Sir Ben Ainslie taking majority ownership of the Great Britain SailGP Team and ROCKWOOL becoming Team Operators of the Danish Team, SailGP is rapidly developing.
"This is another exciting milestone for our global league," Russell Coutts, SailGP CEO, said.
"When we launched in 2018, our intention was to build to 10 teams and 10 events by Season 5, so I am very pleased that we have been able to accelerate the expansion and achieve this goal two years earlier than expected.
"It really does validate the model we have established for SailGP and is an important step on our journey towards having a truly global league.
"Working with Fred and the Canada team, it is evident that passion and purpose are an intrinsic part of their group and fully aligns with SailGP's vision.
"We are excited to welcome the Canada SailGP Team to our championship league and I personally can't wait to see 10 teams on the starting line for Season 3."
SailGP and the Canada SailGP Team will be exploring fan-friendly inshore sailing locations and suitable host cities across the country to bring the first SailGP event to Canada in 2022.
Further details of the Canada SailGP Team - including the driver - will be announced in due course.
