Organisers of the World Match Racing Tour have announced the 2022 WMRT Final has been re-scheduled to 13-18 December in Sydney, Australia. The event will be co-hosted with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) and the winner will be crowned official 2022 Match Racing World Champion.

The change of venue for the 2022 WMRT Final follows the ongoing border closures in China, where the WMRT Final was previously scheduled to take place in Shenzhen from 6-11 December. Strict travel restrictions for international visitors to China have been in place since the start of the global pandemic in 2020

"It is unfortunate we have been unable to host the WMRT Final in Shenzhen again this year due to the continued travel restrictions to China" commented WMRT Executive Director James Pleasance "however, to ensure we can still host the tour final this year, we are very pleased to partner with the CYCA to host the event in Sydney - the club has a great deal of experience in running world class match racing events and sailing conditions in Sydney in December should be ideal as well."

Up to 12 teams are being invited to the event including defending match racing world champion Taylor Canfield (Stars + Stripes Team USA) and six-time world champion Ian Williams from Great Britain. The event will be sailed in the CYCA fleet of Elliott 7m keelboats with crews of 4 or 5. Racing will take place over 5 days with a single round robin stage followed by a repechage, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals and Final on Sunday 18 December.

The CYCA is also home to the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race and the club will be busy in late December preparing for the 77th edition of the iconic race starting on 26 December as CYCA Commodore Arthur Lane explains;

"It is extremely exciting for us to partner with the World Match Racing Tour to bring the Finals to the southern hemisphere for the very first time. The Club has a strong history in hosting world-class sailing events, so adding the World Match Racing Tour to our calendar this December will be very special. We look forward to welcoming all the teams to Sydney and to the CYCA."