Building Adams Cup History

The Mrs. Charles Frances Adams Cup, or “Adams Cup” for short, was the competition for the United States Women’s Sailing Championship. The Adams Cup was first held in 1924 and was raced annually until the event was retired in 2011.

Run by US Sailing, eliminations were held throughout the country, and the finals were raced in a different type of boat each year to eliminate any advantage a sailor from any particular class might otherwise have. Competitors sailed boats provided by the host club, and teams were required to race each boat at the event once so that nobody will have an advantage in terms of equipment – similar to high school and collegiate sailing.

The Mrs. Charles Frances Adams Trophy is now on display in the Reading Room of the Tom Morris Library at the US National Sailing Hall of Fame.

A reunion of Adams Cup participants was held in October during the 2015 US National Sailing Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, and now the Hall of Fame committee is working to identify all participants in the Adams Cup and theirs stories.

Those who participated are encouraged to let the Hall know how to contact you and others with whom you may be in touch to help build the network and enhance the Adams Cup web page. If you have any information on former Adams Cup competitors and/or stories, please contact Sam Healy at Sam.Healy@nshof.org