On the path to the Congressional Cup

The lineup has been confirmed for the 2024 Ficker Cup regatta, with racing on April 19-21 as the first event for the 2024 World Match Racing Tour. Eight skippers representing Australia, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, and USA will compete in the three-day Grade 2 match race regatta in Long Beach, CA. Held in Catalina 37s, the top three teams earn entry to the Grade 1 Congressional Cup on April 24-28.

“It has been difficult to narrow it down to just eight skippers, but we have – with a diverse field culled from the top male, female and youth skippers from around the globe,” reports said 2024 Chair Steve Meyer.

Meyer introduced the competitors as: Rocco Attili (ITA), Aurélien Pierroz (FRA), Megan Thomson (NZL), Nicole Breault (USA), Cole Tapper (AUS), Peter Wickwire (CAN), Dave Hood (USA), and Scott Dickson (USA).

Thomson took second in the 2023 Ficker Cup and made her Congressional Cup debut last year, followed by a stunning third place finish in WMRT Finals in December. Breault earned her Ficker Cup berth by winning the 2023 California Dreamin’ Series, and is a three-time Ficker Cup veteran.

Hood qualified for Ficker Cup with a victory in the 2023 Butler Cup, and already has an invitation to the Congressional Cup as the representative of host Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC). His credentials are just as impressive off the water as on: he is a Sr. Staff Commodore at LBYC.

Dickson, although he hasn’t been active on the match racing circuit in recent years, has won more Ficker Cup trophies than any other skipper in history.

The Ficker Cup was introduced in 1980 to honor Bill Ficker, a legendary yachtsman, Star Class World Champion, and America’s Cup and Congressional Cup victor.

Between the Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup events, 13 of the world’s top 20 match racing skippers will be on-site at LBYC this April with racing held directly off Long Beach’s Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.

Tour information – 2024 season – Event details – Facebook

About the World Match Racing Tour
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded ‘Special Event’ status by the sport’s world governing body – World Sailing – and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion.

Previous champions include Sir Ben Ainslie (GBR), Taylor Canfield (USA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Peter Holmberg (ISV), Adam Minoprio (NZL), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Bertrand Pace (FRA), Jesper Radich (DEN), Phil Robertson (NZL) and Ian Williams (GBR).

Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of today’s professional sailors.

Source: LBYC