SSL Team BUL – By Sailors for Sailors

THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP... IN SAILING

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS | 14-17 July 2026 | Grandson, Switzerland

FINALS | 15 Nov - 13 Dec 2026 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Events

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 1

14:00

14 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 2

15:30

14 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 3

11:00

15 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 4

11:30

16 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 5

12:30

16 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

Replay

EUROPEAN QUALIFIERS 2

G2 - Race 6

15:30

17 July 2026

SWITZERLAND

Participants

POR

TUR

BUL

Results

See All Races

News

90 DAYS TO GO: THE COUNTDOWN TO RIO CONTINUES

90 days TO GO! The countdown to the SSL Gold Cup Final Series is getting shorter, and after months of training, qualifications and preparation, Rio de Janeiro is now firmly…

Date21.08.2026

PASSING THE EXPERIENCE ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION

Sailing on the SSL47 boats is about much more than preparing established teams for the next competition one and another. It is also a moment where experienced sailors can share…

Date18.08.2026

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE TEAMWORK

In sailing, individual talent can take you far, but in team racing, it is the connection between sailors that can make all the difference. That is why teams from around…

Date13.08.2026

THE LIONS

THE WORLD WILL HEAR US ROAR

Lions by heart and sailors by soul, we were raised on the waters of the Black Sea, a sea named after it’s harsh temper. Hardened by the elements and blended together in a team, we will prevail in the event where raw sailing skills and instinct win races.

Small nations can deliver big surprises in sports. Bulgaria did it before. And we can do it in sailing too.

Our SSL Team includes top athletes competing in international sailing events. The pick consists of sailors qualified with their racing results and those with lives dedicated to the sport of sailing. With some of us as first timers in a crew or a 22-time winner of the oldest regatta in Bulgaria, we are one team with one drive:

Sailing means the world to us. The SSL Gold Cup is calling. And we answer.

Statistics

THE COUNTRY

35000 nautical passionate
3000 sailors
30 sailing clubs
100 sailing schools
400km of sea coast

ACHIEVEMENTS

12th place at the Olympic Games 2008
4-time Olympian in sailing
4 Olympic athletes
1st place ARC Race 2015

SSL Ranking

SSL best ranked woman: 3411
SSL best ranked man: 1893
SSL nations ranking: 56

MAIN EVENTS

Bourgas Sailing Week > 220 participants
Varna Channel Cup > 180 participants (2019)
Cor Caroli Regatta > 250 participants (2019)

The most successful Bulgarian Olympic Sailor ever is Irina Konstantinova and her sailing number is BUL 14. Her career is an inspiring story: when your whole life is sailing, everything is possible.

The captain

YAVOR KOLEV

Yavor Kolev is one of the most knowledgeable and well-versed sailors in Bulgaria, a driving force behind the growth and advancement of sailing sports in the country.
The main part of his 30 years career is spent as a sailing coach on a different levels – from beginner to Olympic level, coaching the Bulgarian Olympic sailors from 2002 to 2013. A decade later he is still keen on taking the lead.

THE LEADERS

YOAN KOLEV

Yoan Kolev is an inspiration for many young Bulgarian sailors. He managed to climb the ladder from an absolute beginner to an Olympian for only 10 years and so far he is the best ranked Bulgarian male Olympic sailor.

LYUBEN TENEKEDZHIEV

Lyuben Tenekedzhiev has a magnetic personality and is a role model for the younger generation Bulgarian dinghy sailors being among the first athletes with a consistent high performance at an international level.

RADOSLAV GAVRAILOV

Radoslav Gavrailov is a fine example of the youngest and most promising generation of racing ferrets. His participation in the SSL GOLD CUP with no doubt is a glimpse of the bright future that is about to come for all his fellow youth teammates!

THE YOUTH FACTOR

Young Guns have no fear of the sea nor of their rivals. They jump right on the task. They are smart, keen and bold in their fight. They come out of the extremely competitive Olympic classes and they carry the flame of the battle on the big boat. They push themselves harder and they raise the pace of the team. Sky’s the limit. The Future is theirs!

Confirmed Athletes

Captain | 10

Bow | 1

Pit | 3

Mid-Bow | 2

Trimmer | 5

Trimmer | 5

TBD | TBD

Tactician | 9

Helm | 8

TBD | 4

Bow | 11

TBD | TBD

TBD | TBD

Grinder | 14

TBD | TBD

TBD | TBD

TBD | TBD

Trimmer | 5

Main Trimmer | 7

Potential Team Position

1 BOW Lyuben Todorov	2 MID-BOW Boris Minkov
3 PIT Boris Minkov/Radoslav Gavrailov/ Ina Ilieva	4 GRINDER Boris Minkov/Radoslav Gavrailov/ Krasimir Naumov
5 TRIMMER Radoslav Gavrailov/ Mihaela Alexandrova	6 TRIMMER Mihail Berberov
7 MAIN TRIMMER Viktor Kateliev	8 HELM Ivo Todorov
9 TACTICIAN Lyuben Tenekedzhiev	10 CAPTAIN Yavor Kolev
11 FLOATER

BOW

Lyuben Todorov

MID-BOW

Boris Minkov

PIT

Boris Minkov/Radoslav Gavrailov/ Ina Ilieva

GRINDER

Boris Minkov/Radoslav Gavrailov/ Krasimir Naumov

TRIMMER

Radoslav Gavrailov/ Mihaela Alexandrova

TRIMMER

Mihail Berberov

MAIN TRIMMER

Viktor Kateliev

HELM

Ivo Todorov

TACTICIAN

Lyuben Tenekedzhiev

CAPTAIN

Yavor Kolev

FLOATER

SQUAD

Yavor Kolev	Boris Minkov
Ina Ilieva	Ivan Gueorguiev
Radoslav Gavrailov	Maria Alexandrova
Angelov Ivailo	Lyuben Tenekedzhiev
Ivo Todorov	Yoan Kolev
Aleksandar Dimitriev	Valentin Nedyalkov
Krasimir Naumov	Mihaela Alexandrova
Viktor Kateliev	Lyuben Todorov
Diana Markova	Viktor Stanoev
Vladislav Marinov	Ivan Georgiev