HARDESTY AND TEAM CMRC TO START CONGRESSIONAL CUP TODAY

Reigning US Match Race Champion to compete in most prestigious match race event in the US

Long Beach, CA – Bill Hardesty and his Team CMRC will start competition today in the 46th Congressional Cup, hosted by Long Beach YC. This event is the only ISAF Grade 1 match race regatta in the US, and has had a long tradition of attracting some of the highest-caliber talent in the sport.

Hardesty is the 2009 US Match Race Champion and thus is well-qualified to meet the field of ten teams deep in America’s Cup, Olympic, and World Match Race Tour talent.

“This is an awesome opportunity, its an honor to be have been invited,” says Hardesty. “And the field here is going to be really tough. But we had a great season last year, my team is really strong, so we’re looking forward to having a great event.”

Racing with Hardesty on equally-matched Catalina 37 class yachts is Matt Cassidy, Rod Hagebois, George Peet, Andy Escort, and Andrew Campbell.

Team CMRC will compete today through Friday in a double round-robin format, followed by the Semi-Final and Final rounds to be held on Saturday. Skippers in the Congressional Cup will earn valuable Grade 1 points on the ISAF World Match Race Ranking List, a share of the $40,000 prize money purse, as well as a chance to join the elite list of former winners who have been awarded the emblematic prize of the event, the coveted Crimson Blazer.

For more information about the Congressional Cup, daily results, photos, live audio, and nightly videos of the day’s action on the water from t2p.tv, visit the event website at www.lbyc.org.