Mateusz Kusznierewicz - Ambassador for the 505 World Championships in Gdynia!
The award-winning, internationally recognised Polish sailor invites the competitors from all over the world to join him for the regattas that for the first time in their history are going to be held in Poland. 505 is the non-olympic racing class that includes several thousand participants in Europe, The USA, Australia and South Africa. For the last decade the 505 has been gaining more and more recognition in Poland.
- Polish sailing remains at a high level, worldwide. Our surfers and sailors have been in the lead for years, winning medals during both European or World Championships as well as the highest Olympic trophies - says Kusznierewicz, double Olympic medalist of the Finn class and now also the vice-president for sport affairs of the Polish Yachting Association - Olympic classes are the priority to us but it is the non-olympic competitions that are very interesting as well, like 505 for example. It is with great satisfaction that I observe the fast growth of this class in Poland.
The growing number of competitors sailing with the 505 boat has drawn the attention of the sailing society worldwide. By the decision of the international 505 Class Association, Poland has received the honour to host this most prestigious racing of all - 505 World Championships that will take place in Gdynia, July 2018. The best competitors from all over the world will join the regatta.
- For us it is the ultimate recognition. Other countries have had the 505 representatives for over 50 years, we are just the beginners among them, nevertheless our friends from abroad appreciate the fact that in probably no other country the number of new crews have never been growing so quickly as it has here, in Poland - says Przemysław Zagórski, the president of the 505 class in Poland - more and more good sailors race the 505 dinghy in Poland but we aim at developing the whole racing society here, we want to convince as many people as we can to try sailing regattas, the sport that Poland can be exceptionally proud of.
The 505 boat is a high-performance, two-person dinghy. This class requires a fair amount of sailing skills; it’s small weight together with the large surface of the sails (42sqm while sailing downwind) enables this boat reach great speed, especially with strong winds. For the last 10 years the 505 has been steadily gaining popularity, at present it is the most popular non-olympic racing class in Poland. In her free time, the 420 World Champion, Agnieszka Skrzypulec, sails the 505 sails too.
More information on our ambassador and the regattas in Gdynia: