Qualifying begins at Women’s Match Racing Worlds

Ekaterinburg, Russia (August 14, 2018) – The racing at the 2018 Women’s Match Racing World Championship began today under cloudy skies with a light rain for the 11 teams representing six nations.

“The key to the day was playing the shifts, being patient, and keeping speed in the boat all of the time,” said Trine Palludan, skipper of the Danish Team Kattnakken, who is undefeated and leading after day one with five wins and no losses.

The format begins with a single round robin stage which advances the top four teams to the Quarter Finals. The bottom seven teams go to the Repechage Round Robin stage where the top four complete the Quarter Final pairings.

The 2018 edition of the World Championship celebrates the 20th anniversary of the event. As the third event of the WIM Series, racing is held in Ricochet-747 boats from August 14 to 18.

Day One Results:
1. Trine Palludan, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 5-0
2. Lucy Macgregor, Team Mac, GBR, 4-0
3. Marinella Laaksonen, L2 Match Racing Team, FIN, 4-1
4. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 3-1
5. Milena Laverycheva, BERGAUF Sailing Team, RUS, 3-2
6. Alexandra Martynova, BornToSail, RUS, 2-3
7. Alexa Bezel, Swiss Women Match Racing Team, SUI, 1-3
7. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team , FRA, 1-3
7. Ekaterina Kochkina, ProKaTeam Sailing Team, RUS, 1-3
10. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 0-4
10. Octavia Owen, Athena Racing, GBR, 0-4

WIM Series – Event details – Facebook

Entry list:
• Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team – France
Pauline Courtois, Maëlenn Lemaître, Louise Acker, Nathalie Corson, Sophie Faguet
• L2 Match Racing Team – Finland
Marinella Laaksonen, Daniela Rönnberg, Marianna Kontulainen, Eva-Lotta
Hokkonen
• Team Kattnakken – Denmark
Trine Palludan, Anne Sofie Munk-Hansen, Louise Ulrikkeholm Bredvig, Joan Wester Hansen
• Swiss Women Match Racing Team – Switzerland
Alexa Bezel, Fiona Testuz, Manon Kivell, Nicole Bolliger
• Team Mac – Great Britain
Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush, Nicky Walsh, Kate Macgregor
• Athena Racing – Great Britain
Octavia Owen, Ruby Riggs, Amber Riggs, Hebe Hemming
• Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team – France
Margot Vennin, Marie Zugolaro, Juliette Dubreuil, Adèle Marévéry, Sophonie Affagard
• APCC Women Sailing Team – France
Margot Riou, Clémentine Hilaire, Caroline Vandame, Tiphaine Ragueneau
• ProKaTeam Sailing Team – Russia
Ekaterina Kochkina, Svetlana Sidorova, Anastasia Gladysheva, Antonina Tikhonova
• BERGAUF Sailing Team – Russia
Milena Laverycheva, Olga Ivanova, Ksenia Trushkina, Tatyana Razumova
• BornToSail – Russia
Alexandra Martynova, Liudmila Dmitrieva, Anastasia Shcheglova, Yana Stokolesova

Standings in WIM Series 2018 after two events (team, skipper, nationality, points):
1. Team Kattnakken / Women On Water, Trine Palludan / Henriette Koch – DEN, 47
2. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, Pauline Courtois – FRA, 45
3. Team Bergqvist Match Racing, Johanna Bergqvist – SWE, 40
4. L2 Match Racing Team, Marinella Laaksonen – FIN, 32
5. Team Sköna Vibbisar, Antonia Degerlund – FIN, 24
6. Team Anna, Anna Östling – SWE, 20
7. New Sweden Match Racing Team, Caroline Sylvan / Claire Leroy – SWE / FRA, 16
8. Team BAAM!, Allie Blecher – USA, 16
9. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, Margot Vennin – FRA, 14
10. Swiss Women Match Racing Team, Alexa Bezel – SUI, 12
11. NZ Match, Celia Willison – NZL, 12
12. Stockholm Match Racing Team, Sanna Häger – SWE, 10
13. Swedish Women’s Match Racing Team, Sanna Mattsson – SWE, 10
14. ProKaTeam Sailing Team, Ekaterina Kochkina – RUS, 8
15. Team Skogman, Jassi Skogman – FIN, 8
16. APCC Women Sailing Team , Margot Riou – FRA, 6
17. Athena Racing, Octavia Owen – GBR, 5
18. Peregrine Racing, Hanna Ericksson – SWE, 5

Background:
The Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) was formed in 1996 and is an international association of women sailors whose mission is to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level.

WIMRA created the first and only professional sailing series for women in 2013 – the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series). The WIM Series delivers a global circuit of competition to test the world’s best sailors in a format of round robin and knock-out matches.

2018 WIM Series Schedule
June 25-29: Helsinki Women’s Match – Helsinki, Finland (J/80)
August 6-11: Lysekil Women’s Match – Lysekil, Sweden (Fareast 28r)
August 14-18: Women’s Match Racing World Championship – Ekaterinburg, Russia (Ricochet 747)
October 30-November 3: Swiss International Women’s Match – Ascona, Switzerland (J/70)
November 29-Decenber 2: Carlos Aguilar Match Race – St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (IC 24)

Source: WIM Series