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Auckland will host the 2022 Women’s Match Racing World Championships in November, which will double as the culmination of the inaugural Women’s World Match Racing Tour announced today.
The Women’s World Match Racing Tour is a global professional series designed to promote and grow female participation in sailing and match racing around the world.
The inaugural 2022 Tour features four events in France, Denmark, Greece and the 2022 Women’s Match Racing World Championship which will be hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on November 9-13.
The world championships will see 14 skippers invited to take part, including last year’s champion and world No 1 Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team.
The event is likely to see at least one Kiwi boat with the 2022 New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship acting as a qualifier for a wildcard berth into this year’s worlds.
“We can’t wait for the Women’s Match Racing World Championship to be held in Auckland, and to have the first ever Women’s World Match Racing Tour being decided on the Hauraki Gulf," RNZYS sailing director Laurie Jury said. "it’s a great opportunity for New Zealand’s women match racing teams to test themselves against, and learn from, the best in the world.
“It’s also fantastic to be able to invite world-class sailing events like this back to New Zealand waters, and we hope to see the Women’s World Match Racing Tour go from strength to strength in its debut season.”
Teams will go head-to-head in the one-design fleet of Elliott 7 keelboats. The 14 teams will race each other once, with the top eight qualifying for the quarterfinals.
“It is such an inspiration for young women sailors to see the best teams in the world competing on a world stage, so it is great to have a platform like the Women’s World Match Racing Tour to create a strong pathway and opportunities for professional women in our sport,” two-time women’s match racing world champion Anna Östling said.
The 2022 Women’s WMRT features four stages starting at June's Normandie Match Cup in France. Sipper points will be awarded at each event, with the best three results to count towards the 2022 WWMRT title.
Stage 1 – Normandie Match Cup, 2-6 June, Le Havre, France (Beneteau First Class 7.5m)
Stage 2 – Women’s Match Race, 23-25 September, Royal Danish Yacht Club, Skovshoved, Denmark (DS37)
Stage 3 – EUROSAF Women’s European Championship, 12-15 October, Corfu Sailing Club, Greece (Platu 25)
Stage 4 – Women’s Match Racing World Championship, 9-13 November, RNZYS, Auckland, New Zealand (Elliot 7m)
See here more information on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour.
