The Korea Match Cup heats up, as the four teams who will participate in Korea Match Cup ranked 1st to 4th at WMRT Brazil Sailing Cup.

The preliminary match to select the Asian team for WMRT Korea Match Cup is being held at Hayama Port, Japan, from May 9 to 11, 2008. The WMRT Korea Match Cup is to be held at Jeongok Marina, Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, starting on June 11, 2008.

Hayama Port of Japan is a one-hour drive south of Tokyo, and was the venue for the WMRT Nippon Cup in 2003 and 2004.

Organized by JYMA, the preliminary match will be see participation by nine teams. Contestants include Takumi Nakamura, a promising star player from Japan. As Japan is the leading Asian country in the yachting field, the match is expected to be marked by fierce competition between the Japanese teams.

Japan has participated in the America¢®£¿s Cup three times, and has hosted WMRT twice. Korea’s hosting of WMRT has made the Japanese teams particularly keen to be involved, and this is expected to result in a highly competitive preliminary match.

Japan has long been the Asian champion of match racing, and it welcomes Korea as a new challenger since the fierce competition will no doubt improve the level of Asian teams.

JYMA has announced that it plans to provide full support for the successful hosting of the Korea Match Cup, based on its experiences hosting WMRT. It also plans to host regular goodwill matches with Korea.

It appears that Japan intends to utilize the Korea Match Cup as a springboard for the recovery of its yacht industry. Japan has not held a Nippon Cup during the last three years due to economic reasons.

The Korean team that will be participating in Korea Match Cup will be selected in the Korean preliminary match. Organized by the Gyeonggi Yachting Association, the Korean preliminary match will be held at Jeongok Marina, Hwaseong City, starting on May 16.

[Picture – Hayama Port, Japan, where the Asian preliminary match will be held]