Team Oman Sail begins preparation for the Star Sailors League Gold Cup in Switzerland

Muscat: Oman Sail’s Star Sailors League team have begun preparations for the upcoming SSL Gold Cup Circuit 2025-2026 with a training camp in Grandson, Switzerland, on the shores of Lac de Neuchâtel. The team will train alongside sailors from Greece and Switzerland ahead of the new season, with Asian Qualifiers set for December 2025 ahead of the finals in July 2026.

The team comprises ten sailors, skippered by Nasser Al Mashari, alongside Ali Al Balushi, Yasser Al Rahbi, Raed Al Hadi, Haitham Al Wahaibi, Akram Al Wahaibi, Hussain Al Jabri, and Abdulrahman Al Mashari, in addition to two female sailors, Ibtisam Al Salmi and Marwa Al Khaifi, from the women’s team.

The training camp from 1-10 September will see the team use SSL47 boats to get a feel for the demands of the SSL Gold Cup through a series of technical drills and tactical exercises. Several teams, including SSL Australia, SSL Ecuador, SSL Colombia, SSL United Arab Emirates, and many more, have already embarked upon training camps also on Lac de Neuchâtel as part of a 60-nation event, featuring many newcomers to the competition. The fleet will be narrowed down to 40 for the finals.

Abdulaziz Al Shidi, Acting Director of Sailing at Oman Sail, said, “Building the international presence of Oman Sail’s team reflects the organisation’s commitment to promoting the Sultanate of Oman on the global stage by participating in major sporting events. The event also has the potential to empower Omani youth and inspire further development of their skills in sailing to compete at the highest levels. We are delighted to join so many sailing nations in the Star Sailors League Gold Cup and have the opportunity to highlight Oman’s rich maritime heritage and showcase our nation in the international sporting arena.”

The Star Sailors League Gold Cup is a biennial international sailing competition where nations—rather than individual sailors—compete for sailing supremacy aboard identical one-design yachts. It’s often described as the “Football World Cup in Sailing”. Racing is done in fleets of four boats in windward-leeward courses using SSL47 yachts, delivering thrilling and accessible inshore racing for spectators. 

The inaugural edition of the Star Sailors League Gold Cup was ultimately won by Hungary, who were crowned the first-ever sailing world champion nation at final on 3 December 2023 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.