American-Australian showdown tomorrow at Busan Cup

Busan, Korea (October 29, 2015) – Katie Spithill has led her Team Leagues Racing to six straight victories in the round-robin of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race. After two days of racing the Australian is now the only undefeated skipper in the 12-team field.

“It was a great day for our team, no mistakes was the key,” notes Spithill. “As long as we keep sailing this way it’ll be just fine.”

Due to very light winds Thursday morning, all racing in the fourth and final event of the 2015 Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) was postponed for quite a while. The Race Committee tried a few times to get the racing going, but didn’t succeed until a rather stable breeze of 10 – 15 knots appeared on the waters just off of the Haeundae Beach.

In the first flight of the day Katie Spithill defeated World #2 Anna Östling of Sweden, and then French Anne-Claire Le Berre had to face the Aussie power.

“We had a close prestart against Anne-Claire, managed to push her over the line and then stay ahead until the finish,” Spithill explains. “A lot of our races today were close, because of the quite shifty conditions. We had to make sure we stayed near our opponents, with no big splits.”

The loss against Spithill was the only setback so far in the event for Le Berre and her French Women’s Match Racing Team, now standing on a 7 – 1 score.

“We’ve done a good job, with great crew work and excellent boat handling in the team,” Le Berre reports. “But it’s also been very demanding, and we’ll certainly be happy to go to bed tonight.” Regarding the K30s, “It’s a powerful boat even in not so much wind, but there isn’t a lot of space for the middle crew, they often bump into each other.”

The WIM Series leaders of the American team Epic Racing had another couple of good races Thursday, winning three matches and losing only their fight against Le Berre & Co.

“The French sailed really well today, executing their game plan when I messed up at the top mark,” skipper Maggie Shea says, praising her team. “We had a lot of fun and even when I made some mistakes it wasn’t a big drama. Everything worked out smoothly and we had great tactical calls, so I just drove the bus.”

The Americans, who have done enough to qualify for the quarterfinals, have just two more races tomorrow to complete their round robin stage. Spithill, however, has five races remaining, with one against the Americans, so there is still a lot of racing left which will impact the bracket assignments for the next round.

The round-robin is planned to conclude Friday, followed by the knock-out stages over the weekend with the Finals on November 1.

Standings in the round-robin of the Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race
(skipper, nationality, wins – losses)
1. Katie Spithill, AUS, 6 – 0
2. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 7 – 1
3. Maggie Shea (substituting for Stephanie Roble), USA, 7 – 2
4. Anna Östling, SWE, 5 – 3
5. Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, DEN, 3 – 2
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 3 – 2
7. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 2 – 3
8. Denise Lim, SIN, 3 – 6
9. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 2,5 – 5
10. Milly Bennett, AUS, 2 – 6
11. Diana Kissane, IRL, 1 – 5
12. Sung Eun Choi, KOR, 0 – 6

WIM Series website – Busan Cup – Facebook – Twitter

The Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race marks the conclusion of the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) 2015 season. With the rich prize pool of USD 100 000 for the event and USD 40 000 for the WIM Series, there is a lot for the sailors to be fighting for. Racing in K30s is scheduled on October 28 – November 1. The trophy for the WIM Series overall winner – The Terry J. Kohler Perpetual Trophy – is named after US businessman Terry Kohler, a long-time proponent and supporter of women’s match racing.

Standings in the 2015 WIM Series, after three stages out of four (skipper, nationality, WIM Series points):
1. Stephanie Roble, USA, 67
2. Camilla Ulrikkeholm Klinkby, DEN, 60
3. Anna Östling, SWE, 55
4. Anne-Claire Le Berre, FRA, 53
5. Caroline Sylvan, SWE, 41
6. Pauline Courtois, FRA, 30
7. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED, 26
8. Lotte Meldgaard, DEN, 25
9. Juliana Senfft, BRA, 21
10. Renée Groeneveld, NED, 16
11. Johanna Bergqvist, SWE, 14
12. Katie Spithill, AUS, 14
13. Alexa Bezel, SUI, 13
14. Diana Kissane, IRL, 12
15. Annabel Vose, GBR, 10
15. Milly Bennett, AUS, 10
17. Louise Christensen, DEN, 6
18. Morgan Wilson, USA, 4
18. Sanna Häger, SWE, 4
20. Rikst Dijkstra, NED, 0
20. Johanna Larsson, SWE, 0
20. Nina Ramm-Schmidt, FIN, 0

About the Women’s International Match Racing Series
The Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) is the first and only professional sailing series for women, hosted by the Women’s International Match Racing Association and joined by the world’s leading women match racing sailors. Match racing is sailed in two identical boats around a short course, providing fast action close to the crowds on shore.

The intense racing is just as exciting for the spectators as it is strategically, tactically and physically challenging for the competing crews. An overall prize purse of 40 000 USD will be distributed by the WIM Series at the final event in Busan, Korea, in addition to the prize money at each of the four events included in the 2015 WIM Series

2015 WIM Series (date, event name, location, boat type):
* July 8 – 12, ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship, Middelfart, Denmark, Match 28.
* August 3 – 8, Lysekil Women’s Match, Lysekil, Sweden, DS 37.
* September 16 – 20, Buddy Melges Challenge, Sheboygan, USA, Elliott 6.
* October 28 – November 1, Busan Cup Women’s International Match Race, Busan, Korea, K30.

Report by Event Media