The Danish Sailing League’s first season ended Sunday with Hellerup Sailing Club at the top of the podium as sovereign Danish champions for sailing clubs. The winning HSC team included Mads Christensen, Ida Hartvig, Trine Abrahamsen, Casper Peetz, Kvid Kristian Sorensen, Morten Halkier and Christina Otzen along the way. “I’ve tried to win the ISAF World Cup and other things in my time. But this is the first time I’ve seen someone come up to me and say that WE are ‘number one.’ I am proud to have helped to create a sense of community within the club about this,” said the skipper Mads Christensen – the only one who has sailed all four events for Hellerup SC. “Overall, Danish yachting be really proud of the league’s first season. We have had many young sailors back in the sport, and we have created something really fun and with very close sailing. I believe that the league may be the ‘Game-Changer’ for the sport of sailing,” said Mads Christensen. The Royal Danish YC demonstrated its participation with four different crews for each of four events—16 sailors in total. In Aarhus, the KDY had four young match racing talents. The result was a second place finish at the event – and second place as the final series standings. “It went very well and we can be satisfied, although we were also disappointed about not winning,” said Hans-Christian Rosendahl for KDY. The big drama on the last day played out in the battle for the league’s third place that also provides access to the forthcoming Champions League Tournament in Copenhagen. All five clubs were in contention. Kaløvig and Aarhus had the best starting point, but with three first places in the last three races, the Kerteminde Sailing Club came from behind and took third place at the very end. “It’s absolutely fantastic, I almost do not know what to say. We did not expect it,” said skipper Kim Haugaard. “We chose to focus on our starts with open air as the most important criteria. Even if others were ahead of us. It worked, we can see now,” he went on. Kerteminde SC had a total of eight sailors participating, with Thomas Møhl as the only one who has sailed all four events. The stage is set for a close battle for next year’s qualifiers to the 2015 Sailing League season. At least 15 clubs are in the qualifying tournament held in late October. The registered clubs are- Elsinore SC, Horsens SC, Struer SC, KAS – Kjøbenhavns Amateur SC, Gilleleje SC, Vedbaek SC, Sejlklubben Lynæs, Thuroe YC, YC Furesøen, Bogense SC, Godalming Bådelaug, SC Lynetten KØS, Boating SC, Hadsund SC, and Skærbæk Bådeklub. “The number of registered clubs largely live up to expectations,” says the league’s project manager Peter Wolsing. “It’s really positive with so much support. More than ten percent of all member clubs in the Danish Sailing Association is now either in the league or trying to qualify,” said Wolsing. He elaborates, “In reality, we are now close to having enough clubs to form the second division. Two leagues will allow the development of sports boat sailing in Denmark a tremendous impetus. And that is precisely Sailing League’s main mission – to create a broad and accessible platform for attractive sports boat sailing in Denmark.” The qualification regatta will take place over the weekend of October 25-26 in Copenhagen, prior to the planned Champions League competition shortly before. For more J/70 Danish Sailing League sailing information, visit http://www.sejlsportsligaen.dk/.