Sonderborg Wins 2026 Danish J/70 Sailing League Championship

ByStuart Johnstone

KDY Team Wins Aarhus Finale
(Aarhus, Denmark)- The finale for the 2026 Danish J/70 Sailing League was hosted by Aarhus Sejklub in Aarhus, Denmark. With sailing taking place on the expansive harbor highlighted by its huge, picturesque bridge at one end, the twenty-one teams were treated to eleven races each in the thirty-three races run by the Aarhus RC/PRO team.

In the end, it was abundantly clear the top four teams for the series were all racing for the honor of “best sailing club” in Denmark. All teams were proud to represent their clubs, and that was evident in the very high level of sailing competition over the weekend. Past winners like the KDY (Royal Danish YC) team had their hands full, facing many of the extremely talented teams from some of Denmark’s smaller sailing clubs.

To prove their point, the KDY Team won the Aarhus finale with grace and style, helping them climb out of the cellar and onto the podium in the season series. Sonderborg Sailing Club took a critical second place, with Bandholm Sailing Club in third. That “flip-flop” between those two clubs proved prophetic in calculating the overall season series! Kalovig Sailing Club took fourth, and Aalborg Sailing Club finished fifth.

2026 Series results
The 2026 season comprised four events spread across the summer: Svendborg, Helsingør, Lemvig, and Aarhus. The results in the Aarhus finale would determine everything for the season podium and bragging rights going into the 2027 sailing season. Here is how it all went down for the top five:

1. Sonderborg- 3-1-2-2 for 8 pts
2. Bandholm- 2-2-1-3 for 8 pts
3. KDY- 4-4-3-1 for 12 pts
4. Kalovig- 1-3-4-4 for 12 pts
5. Neptun Vejle 10-12-5-6 for 33 pts

As the results show, racing for the lead and the coveted podium steps was incredibly tight. Sonderborg Sailing Club beat Bandholm Sailing Club on a countback tiebreaker at 8 pts each. Both had identical records of 1-2-2-3, but Sonderborg beat Bandholm in the final regatta to be declared the 2026 Danish J/70 Sailing League Champions. A similar scenario played out for the bronze medal step. Tied on 12 pts each with identical records of 1-3-4-4 were KDY and Kalovig Sailing Club. KDY won the last regatta, beating Kalovig quite handily. As a result, KDY took the bronze medal for the season!

Sailing photo credits: Frederik Sivertsen

For more Danish J/70 Sailing League information
https://sejlsportsligaen.dk/staevner/