Next month, after a decade of sporting inactivity, the team racing world championship will roar to life when 12 crews are determined to rewrite sport's hierarchy.

Organisers announced on Friday that the 2025 Team Racing World Championship, which will take place at New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court between May 28 and June 1, will feature teams from 10 countries competing in a new format designed to attract spectators.

The traditional dinghy race, consisting of two boats for each team and a complicated scoring system, is gone. Sonar 23-foot keelboats are used, with a simpler format. Two boats per team and the last boat to finish is eliminated.

Two boats are raced by each team, which consists of 6-8 sailors including the skipper and his crew. Each boat can only have a maximum of five people. Crews must remain fixed once the event starts.

The requirement of gender balance is also clear: each team must have at least two women and two men.

Between 1995 and 2015 the United States won six championships, while Britain and New Zealand each claimed two.

Susan Daly, co-chair of the event, told local media that "Keelboat racing is a focus for the New York Yacht Club since more than 25 years."

Newcomers to the game from Argentina, Greece and Sweden, as well as Ireland, bring a new energy against the established powers.

Lukas Bergman, a Swedish racer, said: "Team racing can be intense, challenging, funny, and backwards." It's about not being the last person, not first. Toby Davis edited the article.

(source: Reuters)