Funding issue changes Bermuda plan

The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC), alongside the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), has announced an update regarding the format for the 2026 Bermuda Gold Cup, scheduled to take place this October 13-18. Following recent changes in the event’s sponsorship landscape, organizers have had to cancel the 2026 Bermuda Women’s Match Race.

Over the past two years, the inclusion of a dedicated women’s event alongside the historic Open Gold Cup has been a flagship initiative for the sport, providing a vital global platform for female athletes. However, current financial realities mean the standalone women’s event will not take place this year. Both RBYC and WMRT remain committed to its long-term future and are looking ahead to its return in 2027.

To ensure that elite women skippers are in Bermuda, the Bermuda Gold Cup will transition to a 12-team format for the 2026 edition. Under this structure, official invitations will be extended to leading international women skippers for this World Match Racing Tour event.

“While commercial realities require us to be flexible this year, our core values have not changed,” said P/C Somers Kempe. “Ensuring that the world’s best female skippers have a prominent place on the starting line in Bermuda this October remains a top priority for us.”

The Bermuda Women’s Match Race was to be the fourth of five stages on the 2026 Women’s World Match Racing Tour.

Details: Open Tour – Women’s Tour

Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The winner of the WMRT each year is crowned the Match Racing World Champion.

The Women’s World Match Racing Tour was launched in 2022 to continue the hugely successful legacy of the WIM Series (Women’s International Match Racing Series), which began in 2013 to provide a global match racing series for female sailors.

Source: WMRT