Some of the best Optimist sailors in the world will be heading to Bermuda for the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup next month.

Scheduled to be held at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, form October 3 to 7, the event is being held for the first time in three years and offers the island’s finest young sailors the chance to compete against top international competition on their own waters.

Invitations to 14 sailors from 14 different countries have been accepted, with 12 of the competitors recently representing their country at the 2023 IODA World Championship, with eight finishing in the top 100.

Expected on the start line for the opening race will be sailors from Antigua, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.

Set to competer are Edward Hirsch, from Switzerland, who finished 19th at the recent world championships in Spain and Mariana Pinto, from Portugal, who finished 28th and was the second-best female.

Bermuda’s hopes rest with 2022 national champion Miguel Power, who finished 115th at the World Championship and 22nd at the International Optimist Dinghy Association’s North American championship

Shiloh Cruickshank, who ages out of the class in December, will also be looking to cap off a good year after finishing 106th at the world championship, with Bermuda’s top female Nina Gotfredsen ready to challenge after spending time training and competing with the Lake Ontario Optimist Team his summer.