Will he stay in first class, or will Germany's most successful sailor in sporting history be relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga? For Jochen Schümann and his team from Yachtclub Berlin-Grünau, there is a lot at stake from 27 April. In the relegation to the 1st Bundesliga, three relegation-threatened first division teams, including the YCBG crew, and three promotion-hungry second division teams will be fighting for just three places in the 1st German Sailing League. Schümann did not cause the impending wobbles at his home club himself. In almost all clubs, helmsmen and teams rotate during league matches. But it is Schümann and his team who are now supposed to save the YCBG from relegation.
The opponents are the Düsseldorfer Yacht-Club (DYC) and the Segelkameradschaft Das Wappen von Bremen (SKWB), two former first division teams. The Hamburger Segel-Club (HSC), the Klub am Rupenhorn (KaR) and the Blankeneser Segel-Club (BSC) are the 2015 second division teams vying for promotion. The six teams must be able to call on the skills and sailing instincts they have honed in training on Wednesday if they want to survive in this thrilling relegation spectacle.
The relegation takes place in the league's usual fleet races with all six boats. A minimum of five races must be completed for a classification; a maximum of twelve races are scheduled. If these cannot be completed on Wednesday (start at 11 a.m.), Thursday remains as a reserve day. The last starting opportunity (announcement signal!) on Thursday is 3 pm. By then it will be decided which of the six promising clubs will be allowed to compete in the first class in 2016. SKWB will send Thomas Dehler into the race as helmsman, while Jan-Philipp Hofmann will take the tiller for the Düsseldorf team. Silke Hahlbrock (HSC), Malte Christophersen (Klub am Rupenhorn) and Claas Lehmann (BSC) are the helmsmen of the previous second division teams.
Before the start of the fourth league season, the clubs have trained more than ever before for the start of the league, which follows the relegation directly and also on Lake Starnberg. "The standard is high, even higher than last season," says three-time Olympic champion Jochen Schümann. The two-time America's Cup winner's prediction: "I expect a tough battle for the title." 21 world and European champions, 13 Olympic participants, a three-time Olympic champion and an almost uncountable number of German champions are on the 20-strong league squad lists of the clubs. "The whole nation has been training, so we couldn't help but up the tempo once again," said Jens Kuphal, Team Manager of the 2015 runners-up at the Berlin Yacht Club. "I think this year we'll be going full throttle from the very first race without a warm-up phase." The Bavarian hosts are also eagerly awaiting the league opener. Micki Lieb, Team Manager of the organising Münchner Yacht-Club, is looking forward to the home match: "Of course, the league start 'dahoam' is something special. But we don't put ourselves under any more pressure than on any other match day. Organisationally, everything is ready for the season opener. We're looking forward to the kick-off!" Spectators can watch the Bundesliga opener from Friday at the Münchner Yacht-Club in Possenhofener Straße in Starnberg or watch the live broadcast on the internet from Saturday afternoon.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
