Invitations were sent to the Optimist Dinghy associations of sixteen countries on five continents to lure their best "Opti" sailors to Bermuda. Organizers hope to have twelve international youngsters sailing against Bermuda’s best for the four-day regatta. International entries to date are Ignacio Rogala (ARG), Douglas Campbell (AUS), Frederick Nygaard (DEN), Paloma Esteban (DOM), Annabel Vose (GBR), Max Hibler (GER), Taylor Burn (NZL), Axel Munkby (SWE). Many people think the next Olympic medal for Bermuda will come from the ranks of the Bermuda sailors tested against the best international competition at a young age.

Hamilton, Bermuda (September 20, 2009): 2009 marks the seventh year in a row that Renaissance Reinsurance has sponsored the prestigious Junior Gold Cup in Bermuda. Run in conjunction with the Argo Group Gold Cup professional World Match Racing Tour event, this mini “world cup” invitational brings some of the most accomplished youth sailors from around the world to Bermuda for a youth sailing event contested in International Optimist dinghies.

Headlining the fleet of international guests is Ignatio Rogala (ARG). He was third at the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) world championship and is Argentina’s national champion. Max Hibler (GER) is the winner of the IODA European Championship and is Germany’s national champion, too. Annabel Vos (GBR), Taylor Burn (NZL), Douglas Campbell (AUS) and Frederick Naygaard (DEN) are also national champions in their countries.

“It is a unique opportunity for Bermuda local sailors to compete against the best in our own waters,” said event chairman Somers Cooper. “Renaissance Re provides financial support to help fly the invited youth sailors to Bermuda, providing them with coaching, charter boats and equipment required for competing. This year we hope to have at least twelve talented sailors joining us representing North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Caribbean.”

Once in Bermuda local families host the young sailors. The backdrop of the Argo Group Gold Cup match-racing event running concurrently with the youth event provides the real bonus for all the kids entered in the regatta. They mingle freely with their sailing heroes when back at the dock. The young sailors attend the daily press conferences, too.

The story of the Optimist dinghy in Bermuda started in the early 1970's but it wasn’t until almost 30 years later that an official organization was formed. In 1998 the parents of Bermuda’s Optimist sailors officially agreed to form an organization to be called the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA). Since those early days the Association has become a registered Bermuda Charity. Soon after BODA was formed, a team traveled to the Worlds in Portugal in 1998. Bermuda has entered a Worlds team every year since then with results in the top twenty in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Today Bermuda also sends teams to IODA regattas in North and South America and often Europe. This year Bermudian Owen Siese placed 5th at the IODA North American Championships in The Dominican Republic. Other regional and national events such as the US and Canadian National Championships, New England Championships, CORK and Orange Bowl events have seen Bermudians winning or placing very high on a consistent basis.

Once out of Optimists, local sailors have continued to excel on the world sailing scene. Some of Bermuda's best adult sailors today such as Stevie Dickinson, Zander Kirkland, Katrina Williams, James Doughty, Jesse Kirkland, Gareth Williams and Rudy Bailey learned the world-class skills necessary to enable them to represent Bermuda in other classes from their start in the Optimist.

Bermudian sailors from the Opti class have been hot prospects and been heavily recruited by boarding schools, colleges and universities and seen as strong competitors for interscholastic and intercollegiate sailing teams. Many people think the next Olympic medal for Bermuda will come from the ranks of these sailor athletes.

The Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup will conduct four fleet races per day on Great Sound starting on Thursday, October 8th run by volunteers from the RBYC and BODA. The final day, Sunday, Oct. 11, will see the championship sailed on Hamilton Harbour during the final rounds of the Argo Group Gold Cup if time and conditions allow.

See the wrapup report of last year's event on the ISAF website: www.sailing.org/news/25614.php

Photo gallery of last year's event

About RenaissanceRe
RenaissanceRe is a leading provider of property catastrophe reinsurance and insurance worldwide. Founded in Bermuda in 1993, the Company has gained recognition for excellence in the industry through disciplined underwriting, capital management expertise, sophisticated risk modeling and responsive client service. RenaissanceRe is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘RNR’. For more information, please visit our website: www.renre.com

For Argo Group Gold Cup & RennaissanceRe Jr Gold Cup Media Contact:
Talbot Wilson, Talbot Wilson & Associates, Inc.
Phone: +1 (850)432-8170 Fax: +1 (850)432-8050 Mobile: +1 (850)217-7138
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SKYPE: talbotwilson

For RenRe Junior Gold Cup contact:
P. Somers Cooper, Regatta Chairman
Phone: 441-295-3961 ext 268 Direct: 441-278-3432 Fax: 441-295-2961
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For RenaissanceRe Contact:
Giselle Baksh
Phone: 441- 239-4814 Mobile: 441- 525-7209
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For Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association contact:
Paul Wolmann, President
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