Tag: Rolex MBA’s Conference and Regatta

Lausanne win the Rolex Regatta

5 October 2012

EPFL,  Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne’s crew won the 2012 Rolex MBAs Conference and Regatta at Santa Margharita Ligure. It was only the second time the school had competed at the regatta.

EPFL won the Jeanneau 37 fleet, and then went on to win the match racing final against hosts SDA Bocconi, having beaten Cranfield in the semi- finals. This was Cranfield’s second participation in the regatta, and the second time that they’ve made the podium.

The Benneteau Fleet was won by Boconni, with Cranfield second and RSM third, while IE were second in the Jeanneau fleet, their best showing yet at the Rolex Regatta with Tuck in third.

2011’s winning team from Sauder could only manage 10th in the Benneteaus, while MBA Sailing league leaders LBS came one place behind their closest rivals, Insead  in 6th and 5th respectively in the Jeanneaus. Continue reading “Lausanne win the Rolex Regatta”

Sauder triumph in Santa Margharita

29 September 2011

Sauder burgee Sauder Business School from the University of British Columbia, Canada beat Columbia Business School in the match race final of the Rolex MBA’s Conference and regatta. The Sauder team had come second in their fleet, then won two rounds of match racing to lift the trophy.  The Conference and Regatta, organised by SDA Bocconi Sailing club is now in its 8th year, and was held in Santa Margharita Ligure, Italy on the weekend of 22nd – 25th September 2010.

Winning the MBA’s cup takes luck and skill: Luck to choose the right boat, allocated by lottery at the start of the weekend, and skill to take advantage of having the right boat. The regatta consists of an “A” division of 19 boats, racing with spinnakers and a “B” division of  of 24 boats racing without spinnakers.

The losing semi- finalists in the A division were Warwick and IESE, with Warwick coming 3rd, having won the petit- final. The B division was won by the home team, SDA Bocconi.

Continue reading “Sauder triumph in Santa Margharita”

Will it be Insead’s year?

11 September 2011

The Insead team need a top seven result at the Rolex MBA’s cup regatta in Sta. Margharita to be sure of winning the MBA League trophy for 2011. Their nearest challengers, London Business School are currently six points behind them in the league, and so can overtake them if they come first, while Insead fall to 8th place or worse. Third place Bocconi, would need to repeat their win in their home regatta again this year and see Insead drop to 11th, with LBS 5th or worse to win the league.

Anything is, of course possible at the MBA’s cup, for two reasons: Firstly, because teams in the “A” racing division must be comprised mainly of students currently at the business school they are representing. This means that may be very different crews competing than at other regattas, where school Alumni compete. Secondly, because of the variable quality of the boats in the fleet, which mean that a great team may end up with a particularly slow boat and be consigned to the lower reaches of the results.

The Rolex MBA’s Conference & Regatta, to give it its full name, starts on Thursday 22nd September, with the first race on Friday 23rd. It has been taking place since the mid 2000s and gets bigger every year: over 50 boats participated in 2010. The regatta has 2 divisions: An “A” division, competing with spinnakers in either Benneteau First 36.7s or Jeanneau Sunfast 37s, and a “B” division, competing under handicap without spinnakers in a variety of charter boats. Both divisions race on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th. The winners of the Beneteau fleet and of the Jeanneau fleet then face off in match races on Sunday 25th, to decide the regatta champion.