Women’s International Match Racing Series begins third season

The first two years of the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) saw 39 professional teams from 19 countries competing for gold and glory. Entering the third season, more than 20 teams have already committed, with Danish world #1 and defending WIM Series Champion Camilla Ulrikkeholm as the skipper to beat.

“We’re very excited to go into a new year of women’s match racing,” shared Ulrikkeholm. “Our focus is all about the WIM Series, and we’re aiming for another win this season!”

The upcoming WIM Series season will kick off in Middelfart, Denmark in July. The venue was selected by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) to host the 2015 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship.

“We’re excited and honoured to begin the 2015 WIM Series with such a prestigious event,” WIM Series Manager Liz Baylis comments.

Then the WIM Series moves on to Lysekil in Sweden and to Sheboygan in the USA, before concluding with the grand finale in Busan, South Korea.

“These three venues were part of the WIM Series last year, and we’re very happy to returning there again. All the 2015 sites are world-class, and they all play integral parts in the development and success of women’s match racing around the globe,” Baylis adds.

Will the Danish home waters give Team Ulrikkeholm the opportunity to revenge from last year’s ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship in Cork, Ireland, where Anna Östling (neé Kjellberg) grabbed the final matches and the gold medal? Not if the Swede have any say.

“We want to win again, and we know that we have a good chance. But everybody wants to win in Denmark this year. We really need to focus and perform in all races to take the title again,” says Östling, who has finished runner-up in the first two WIM Series seasons, last year behind Ulrikkeholm.

“We are never in it not to win it. We will fight for every win this year, as every year,” Ulrikkeholm declares, determined to take her second consecutive WIM Series title.

“The podium places of the WIM Series were not decided until the last day of the last event in each of the first two years – highlighting the exciting and competitive nature of the Series. We expect nothing less this year. We have a very solid mix of veterans as well as young up and coming teams,” Baylis concludes.

2015 WIM Series Teams (skipper, country, ISAF World Ranking):
Camilla ULRIKKEHOLM, DEN, 1
Anna ÖSTLING, SWE, 2
Stephanie ROBLE, USA, 3
Lotte MELDGAARD, DEN, 4
Anne-Claire LE BERRE, FRA, 5
Caroline SYLVAN, SWE, 6
Milly BENNETT, AUS, 7
Klaartje ZUIDERBAAN, NED, 8
Pauline COURTOIS, FRA, 9
Katie SPITHILL, AUS, 11
Annabel VOSE, GBR, 12
Denise LIM, SIN, 14
Nina RAMM-SCHMIDT, FIN, 15
Sanna HÄGER, SWE, 17
Rikst DIJKSTRA, NED, 18
Johanna LARSSON, SWE, 22
Alexa BEZEL, SUI, 33
Juliana SENFFT, BRA, 40
Sungeun CHOI, KOR, 97
Louise CHRISTENSEN, DEN, 104
Urara FUJII, JPN, 128
Johanna BERGQVIST, SWE, unranked
Diana KISSANE, IRL, unranked

2015 WIM Series events (date, event name, venue):
* July 8-12, ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship, Middelfart, Denmark.
* August 3-8, Lysekil Women’s Match, Lysekil, Sweden.
* September 16-20, Buddy Melges Challenge, Sheboygan, USA.
* October 27-November 1, Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, Busan, Korea.

Background: The 2015 Women’s International Match Racing Series is in its third season, providing a four-event professional sailing circuit organized by the Women’s International Match Racing Association for the world’s leading women match racing sailors. An overall prize purse of 40 000 USD will be distributed by the WIM Series at the final event in addition to prize money at each of the four events. Series website: http://www.wimseries.com