In 1919 Nylandska Jaktklubben NJK in Helsinki instituted
the Scandinavian Gold Cup, the idea being to attract Swedish yachts to
compete against Finnish yachts of the 40m2 class. The first race was held
in Sandhamn, Sweden, organised by the Royal Swedish Yacht Club. The Cup
was won by a Swedish yacht.
In 1921 the second race was held in Helsinki during the
NJK's 60th anniversary. In 1922, when Finland was a newly elected member
of the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union, NJK handed over the Cup to the
Union as an International Prize in the Six-Metre Class. The Gold Cup replaced
the One Ton Cup, which had been temporarely transferred to a French boat
class.
In 1926 countries from outside Scandinavia participated
for the first time in the Cup competition. The Cup was then won by an US
yacht. In 1953 the Cup was transferred to the 5.5 Metre Class, which from
then on replaced the Six-Metre Class in the Olympic Games.
A total of 69 competitions have been held between 1919
and 1994, every year with the exception of 1920 and the years of WW II,
1940/46, in 1986 two races were sailed. The Scandinavian Gold Cup is a
Nation Trophy, one boat only per country.
(see also the Classic Cup)
In 1919 the Nylandska Jaktklubben instituted the Gold Cup (picture by courtesy of Juerg Menzi)