Order forming at WIM Series China

Shanghai, China (October 13, 2019) – The second day of racing at the 2019 China International Women’s Match Race on Dishui Lake showed light breeze and shifty conditions. The tricky conditions put high pressure on the teams and the racing showed that good tactical decisions could make a huge difference.

After flight 13 Swedish Skipper Johanna Bergqvist came into the dock with a smile on her face, still unbeaten after her 8 matches. She commented: ”It has been a good day for us today in the tricky conditions. The girls have done an amazing job with the tactics and boat handling. And we are really enjoying the racing on the lake!”

French Skipper Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normadiy Elite Team were equally strong with eight wins and no losses, having secured her spot into the quarterfinals together with Bergqvist’s team.

Russian Skipper Ekaterina Chashchina and her Seven Feet Team from Vladivostok found their boat speed and came off the water with five wins today and a total of six wins and five losses in the round robin and can now follow tomorrow’s last three flights of stage one from ashore and see where that score will take them.

For the lower ranked teams it was a new challenge to adapt from yesterday’s breeze to today’s lighter conditions. “The team has learned a lot by racing against the best teams,” said Chinese Skipper Yuting Lu. “It was a great experience! We now need to improve our match racing skills and help match racing grow in China.”

Both Yuting Lu and Korean Skipper Eunjin Kim were eliminated from further racing finding themselves in places 11 and 12 as they finished stage one. “It was a long tiring day, but a great experience,” noted Kim. “It is our second match racing event and our first time in these boats. We appreciate the opportunity to be invited and for having us, we feel grateful. If we get the chance, we look forward to participate in WIM Series again.”

Tomorrow’s racing starts at 9:30 with the completion of the last three flights in Stage One, with the top four teams advancing straight to the quarter finals. The teams placed 5-10 will battle for the last four spots to the quarterfinals in the repechage round robin.

Day Two Results:
1. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 8-0, 8, 100%
1. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 8-0, 8, 100%
3. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA, 7-1, 7, 88%
4. Celia Willison, Edge Racing, NZL, 6-2, 6, 75%
5. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 5-3, 5, 63%
6. Ekaterina Chashchina, Seven Feet Team, RUS, 6-5, 6, 55%
6. Lea Richter Vogelius, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 6-5, 6, 55%
8. Clare Costanzo, Fusion Australia, AUS, 4-4, 4, 50%
9. Megan Thomson, 2.0 Women’s Racing, NZL, 4-7, 4, 36%
10. Xiaowen Ni, Team Fareast Ladies, CHN, 2-9, 2, 18%
11. Eunjin Kim, Team Ladies, KOR, 1-10, 1, 9%
12. Yuting Lu, Team Joinsailing Ladies, CHN, 0-11, 0, 0%

WIM Series – Event details – Results – Facebook – Past winners

Format: Racing in the Fareast 28R is from October 12 to 16, beginning with the round robin where all teams will face each other. The top four teams from the round robin advance to the quarterfinals while the next six will have a second change in the repechage stage to advance to the quarter-finals. The semi-finals and finals will follow.

Standings in WIM Series 2019 (after two events)
1. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, Pauline Courtois – FRA, 43
2. WINGS, Anna Östling – SWE, 38
3. Team Emerson, Marie Björling Duell – SWE, 30
4. Team Mac, Lucy Macgregor – GBR, 25
5. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, Margot Vennin – FRA, 25
6. L2 Match Racing Team, Marinella Laaksonen – FIN, 25
7. Mermaid Sailing Team / New Sweden Match Racing Team, Claire Leroy – FRA, 22
8. Team Kattnakken, Trine Palludan / Lea Richter Vogelius – DEN, 22
9. Dutch Match Racing Team, Renée Groeneveld – NED, 18
10. Team Bergqvist Match Racing, Johanna Bergqvist – SWE, 12
11. APCC Women Sailing Team, Margot Riou – FRA, 12
12. Vela Racing, Nicole Breault – USA, 10
13. No Name Sailing Team, Chloé Le Bars – FRA, 10
14. Swiss Women Match Racing Team, Alexa Bezel – SUI, 6

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.

2019 WIM Series Schedule:
June 6-9 – Normandie Match Cup 2019 – Le Havre, France
August 6-10 – Women’s Match Racing World Championship (Lysekil Women’s Match) – Lysekil, Sweden
October 11-16 – China International Women’s Match Race – Shanghai, China

Source: WIM Series