Riccardo Simoneschi, a life for sailing: racing, executive and event organizer

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Journal of Sailing, the great excellences of the sailing world tell their stories and reveal their projects. In this column, discover all the companies and people who have made important contributions to the multifaceted world of sailing, which enables us all to go to sea in all forms and contexts.

In this installment, we take you on a discovery of Riccardo Simoneschi, much more than a sailor.

Riccardo Simoneschi, racing in the blood

A passion for sailing and racing in some cases ends up conditioning a professional career and directing an entire life. This is what happened to Riccardo Simoneschi, a professional sailor from Genoa who, after having obtained countless titles in different classes, from Italian to world, has held prominent institutional roles: he was president of the Star and Melges24 classes and since 1994 has been a member of various committees within World Sailing. Meanwhile, through the SSI company, he has gained 30 years of experience in managing professional teams and organizing prestigious sailing events.

Riccardo Simoneschi, you’ve been in sports for as long as you can remember and have been involved in several disciplines. What has sailing given you most?

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“I like all sports. Sailing has given me the fascination of the sea, the freedom that sailing both offshore and between buoys instills. And then the fact that you never stop learning and technical skills and mental flexibility are required of you.”

What, as a racer, is the most important achievement of your career?

“Definitely the Italian titles and the bronze at the European Star. In particular I have a very good memory of Key West with the Melges 24s where we won the boat of the week award. There were 90 boats and on the last day from fourth in the standings we managed to win the regatta. On the way back there was our photographer Franco Rodino, who was already elderly at the time, still dressed in the water crying with joy. Then there are the titles won in the Olympic classes, one-design and offshore.”

Can you explain the differences between Italian and foreign sailing?

“In the Anglo-Saxon world, sailing is a sport permeated in the national culture. It is not just the perception of an elitist discipline, as it is in Italy. But both from a sporting and organizational point of view, however, we Italians are good and we do events of the highest level.”

How did you keep your passion for sailing alive and authentic in institutional militancy?

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“In institutional roles, I happened to be there by accident. It all started when the Star class dropped out of the Olympics after the 1996 edition and I had the intuition of what path to follow to immediately bring it back among the Olympic classes at the next Games. And in the end, thanks to the support of Paul Anderson, president of World Sailing, and Juan Antonio Samaranch, then IOC president, I was able to make my ideas concrete. A success that I was never recognized in Italy. In fact, it was the first time in the history of the Olympic Games that a federation changed the awarding of medals during the four-year period.”

What do you remember about that experience and how did you get there?

“I have many memories of that story. It was a very intense year and a half. I was convinced that the decision to oust the Star class was to the detriment of the Olympic Games and sailing more generally. It was easy game because at that time the strongest sailors in the world were on that boat.

To exclude them would have distorted the meaning of the Olympics. That insight was embraced and the Star was reinstated. That success abroad gave me great visibility and the motivation to continue holding positions independently and outside the box while staying true to my sports DNA.”

Riccardo Simoneschi. you were the first to organize the circuits. Which one are you most proud of?

“Yes, I was the first internationally. Circuits as we experience them today at that time did not exist. The first one I organized was called “Ultra Classic” (named after my bike at the time) with the Star class and the concept was simple: there were more events than sailors. The idea was to root the best athletes to train and race together in an organized circuit. The idea was successful and all the other circuits went from there. Audi’s was definitely a moment of great enthusiasm and creativity that lasted 25 years.”

The next America’s Cup will be held in Italy, in Naples. How do you see this opportunity for Italian sailing?

“This is an extraordinary opportunity. A window that will allow so many people around the world to get to know our coasts and our territory. Naples then is an amazing location, if the thermal comes in, there will be great entertainment on the water.”

In your public speeches, there are always two words “inclusion” and “accessibility” in reference to sailing. Why are they so important?

“These are two concepts that I really believe in. Inclusion because I believe that sailing is a sport that needs to broaden as much as possible, particularly to women, and achieve so-called ‘gender equity.’ Accessibility because sailing has always been portrayed as the ‘sport of kings,’ and in some ways it is, but it is equally true that it offers free and affordable access to many, there are all kinds of schools and courses supported by the Italian Sailing Federation, and you can sail with others. Among the goals of SSI’s activities is also to promote and spread sailing to everyone, especially the younger generation. Anyone who approaches the villages set up during our events senses this openness and breathes this desire for inclusion. this is the spirit I try to bring to the events I am organizing and will organize in the future.”

• At this link, all the mythical stories from the 50 years of the Sailing Newspaper

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