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First held in 1991, the ISAF Nations Cup has been contested twice since in 1993 and 1995, with the Grand Finals taking place in Barcelona, Spain, Hoorn, the Netherlands and San Francisco, USA respectively. The inaugural event was won by Ed BAIRD (USA) who has since gone on to win the ISAF Match Racing World Championship three times, took the helm for the America's Cup Defenders Alinghi (SUI) during the most recent Louis Vuitton Acts in Trapani, Italy and currently leads the ISAF World Match Race Rankings.

Nest year the Nations Cup Grand Final will take place at the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Ireland from 5-9 September 2006. Eight separate venues will host the Regional Finals as detailed in the table below.

Entry Proceedure

At the Regional Finals, up to ten entries in each division (open and women) will be accepted, on a first come first served basis. MNA's will be allocated to Regional Finals by ISAF on a regional basis as far as possible.

MNA's should request an invitation by 15 December, 2005, nominating their skipper, and ISAF will respond with an invitation to enter. If more than ten entries are received at a Regional Final, the entries may be split and a second Regional Final held for that 'region'. Such a split may be done based on skipper points, in the same manner as splitting skippers into groups for a round robin series.

The closing date for MNA's to apply for a place at a Regional final or to secure their place 'by right' under paragraph (d) in the Notice of Race is 15 December, 2005. After that date individual skipper entries from Nations whose MNA has not applied for a place will be considered and that entry must be subsequently endorsed by their MNA.

A Cup For All Nations

Contested in supplied equipment, the ISAF Nations Cup represents a test solely of match racing skill with both small and large nations able to compete on a level playing field. Clinics in match racing rules, tactics and strategy, as well as in umpiring techniques and race committee procedures will precede the Regional Finals when appropriate and when requested, meaning the Nations Cup is not just a Championship which highlights match racing excellence, but also acts as an educational tool.

The Notice of Race and Invite Request Form for the Regional Finals and Grand Final is available on the ISAF Nations Cup microsite - www.sailing.org/nationscup.

Regional Finals
Group	Region	Host Nation	Host Club	Equipment	Dates
Group A - Open	Europe 1	Helsinki, Finland	NJK Match Race Center	J/80	15-18 June
Group A - Women	Europe 1	Caniçal, Machico, Madeira, Portugal	Quinta do Lorde Yacht Club	J/22	2-7 May
Group B - Open/Women	Europe 2	Izola, Slovenia	Jadralno Društvo J/24	J/24	29 June-2 July
Group C - Open/Women	Europe 3	London, Great Britain	Queen Mary Reservoir	J/80	To Be Confirmed
Group D - Open/Women	Asia	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Dubai International Marine Club	V1-30	2-7 April
Group E - Open/Women	South America	Salinas, Ecuador	Salinas Yacht Club	J/24	To be Confirmed
Group F - Open/Women	North Ameria	St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands	St. Thomas Yacht Club	IC24	8-11 June
Group G - Open/Women	Oceania	Auckland, New Zealand	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron	Elliot 6 Metre	19-24 April

For a complete list of all the news from the ISAF Nations Cup 2006 CLICK HERE.