After months of preparation, here we go…

The World Flying Fizz Cup 2008 competition is about to begin!

Bea Woodgett, arguably the best all-round sailboat racer in SL, is the Cup Organizer and Director for what plans to be an outstanding event.

Bea has the guidance and support of Mothgirl Dibou, developer of the Fizz, as well as MarkTwain White, the Director for the America’s Cup- SL, Tako Cup 2007, and so many other competitions. The Fizz Cup Cup involves one of the largest race fleets in SL Sailing history, with nearly seventy skippers from all over the world signed up to sail for the cup. The boats will be subdivided into different groups and skippers will compete in six qualifying rounds over the next three weeks in order to narrow the field for the final matches.

The Official Opening Ceremony for the Fizz Cup will take place at Fishers Island Yacht Club on Sunday, April 20 at 3:00pm slt. A host of additional non-racing events are also planned by Sailor’s Cove to celebrate the Fizz Cup, and a detailed announcement of those events is posted by Jojamela Soon on SLSailing.org.

The qualifying rounds will begin on Friday, April 25 at FIYC (Rounds 1 and 4), and then continue at NYC (Rounds 2 and 5) and Weston Marina in Boogdolt (Rounds 3 and 6). The winners of the initial six competitions will then advance to a final series of races at SYC in late May and early June. Here’s a color-coded schedule of the qualifying rounds over the next few weeks (a larger version that’s easier to read can be found here):

The World Fizz Cup 2008 promises a new landmark in the evolution of SL Sailing. The technical advances inherent to the Flying Fizz are remarkable and bring SL a step closer to a true emulation of real-life competitive sailboat racing. Equally import, however, the World Fizz Cup is a milestone for the SL Sailing Community, attracting skippers from all corners of the globe in an open competition that reflects the combined efforts of many different sailing clubs and groups toward a single purpose: the advancement of sailing in Second Life.

Thank you again to Bea Woodget for all her hard work leading the effort for Fizz 2008, and for so many other things she does to make SL Sailing a wonderful thing.