A great 2025 season for the Contender class in Italy

There is great anticipation among fans of the Contender, one of the most technical and spectacular singlehanded dinghies, for the World Championship to be held in Malcesine in mid-summer. About 180 crews are expected. Antonio Lambertini, class champion and point of reference in Italy, tells us all about it.

There is great excitement among Italian fans of the Contender class. In fact, this year it will be our country that will host the highlight event, namely the World Championship(https://2025worlds.contender.it) which is scheduled from July 28 to August 3 in Malcesine, on Lake Garda. This is a highly anticipated event, where the participation record is expected to be broken with 180 crews from all over the world.

Antonio Lambertini: “At the World Cup there will be many of us!”

We talk about it with Antonio Lambertini, World Contender Champion in 2012 and multiple Italian champion, as well as true “dragger” and reference point of the Italian fleet in this class of Anglo-Saxon origin that is very technical, versatile and absolutely fun.

• Foreign Contender crews have a special relationship with Italy. Is that so?

“It is true, Italy is much loved by international Contender crews from countries like England, Germany and Australia, where the major fleets and the great champions of the class are located, and they always come to race with us very willingly. Already in 2013 we organized the Worlds in Gravedona, on Lake Como, which was incredibly successful with an all-time record of 173 participants. And even before that, at the 2004 World Championship on Lake Garda we gathered more than 140 crews. Of our country, foreigners certainly love the territory, culture and gastronomy. But on a technical level they especially appreciate our alpine lakes, which thanks to the regularity of thermal breezes are true “wind machines.” And then they respect our clubs, which are always impeccable and professional in terms of organization and hospitality.”

• You chose Malcesine for the World Cup this year, why?

“This year for the World Championship we have chosen the location of Malcesine on Lake Garda, which unlike spots further north, such as Riva or Torbole where the wind can be very strong, offers less extreme conditions to facilitate even the lightest crews and thus guarantee more balanced regattas. In terms of organization we will rely on the Fraglia Vela Malcesine club, a real guarantee for events of this level. We expect about 180 boats, which at the level of organization requires some commitment. Malcesine, moreover, has the advantage that if we are unable to close a few races in the afternoon with the Ora, it offers excellent chances to race the next day in the morning with the Peler.”

• How will the World Cup trials take place?

“The World Championship takes place over 7 days, 2 of which are dedicated to the finalization of registrations and tonnage checks and the other 5 to racing. There are 10 races scheduled, so 2 per day with the possibility of holding a third make-up race. The first 6 races will be qualifying races, after which the fleet will be divided into “Gold” and “Silver” and the finals will be run.”

• You have arranged for loaner boats again this year, how does it work?

“Yes, every year the class provides 3 boats for the entire season with which to train and participate in regattas. They are assigned at the beginning of the year on a free loaner basis through a special announcement. These are boats that are ready to race. Although they are not brand new, they still allow them to become familiar with and fully enter the national regatta circuit. They are usually assigned to “derivisti” with already a minimum of experience and belonging to clubs where there is already a fleet.”

• How widespread is the Contender in Italy?

“The Contender class in Italy has about 80 members, more than half of whom are active in national regattas, distributed mainly on the Alpine lakes, so Lake Garda, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and Lake Iseo, while on the coast the largest fleets at the moment are those of Ancona, Cesenatico, Genoa, Trieste and Salerno. In our country there is also one of the most appreciated shipyards in the world,
BonezziSailing, currently run by Luca, brother of Andrea winner of 7 World Championships and son of Vito Bonezzi who for more than forty years has been building beautiful mahogany hulls and has contributed a lot to the diffusion of the class in Italy and worldwide. For about 15 years Luca has been continuing the activity, building boats with the same lines in epoxy, a less fascinating material than wood, but more durable and easy to maintain.”

• The Contender remains an all-male and predominantly adult sailing class, why is that?

“True, few women, with a few rare exceptions, and few young people. Our class, unfortunately, is not included in the competitive starter plans offered by the various clubs. And then it has the reputation of being a somewhat complicated boat (perhaps because for so many years competitive boats were mainly wooden ones, which required more maintenance) and young people like simplicity. But we trust that with the development in recent years of the new epoxy hulls, which are now super-competitive and have state-of-the-art stiffness and durability features, the Contender can increase its appeal to younger people as well. Because the Contender has absolutely fun and rewarding handling that deserves to be experienced by all drifters who like to glide without sacrificing technique. Moreover, although it has precise tonnage rules, it also allows a certain amount of freedom, for example in the choice of sails or circuits of the sheets and vang, which is very stimulating at the level of creativity and imagination.

The beauty of international events, such as the one to be held this year in Malcesine from July 28 to August 3, is also precisely that of exchanging ideas and alternative solutions on the various adjustments of the circuits, in rigging, or in the various types of carbon masts (more flexible or stiffer?) and sails in dacron or mylar (more all round, “fatter,” “thinner,” with long or short leech?). And after a day of racing with always a high level of competitiveness, being able to share, with a mug of beer in hand, the experiences of conducting in an inclusive and friendly atmosphere.”