WMRT: Women's World Match Racing Tour announces 2024 season

Now in its third season after re-launching in 2022, the women’s world tour is the only all-female global professional series in sailing, designed to promote and grow participation of women in sailing and match racing.

The 2024 Women’s Tour will kick off from 23-26 April (race days) at the Santa Maria Cup, hosted by Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis, USA. A premier women’s match racing event for over 20 years, past winners of the Santa Maria Cup include notable international stars of women’s sailing such as Betsy Alison, Dawn Riley, Cory Sertl, Liz Baylis, Sally Barkow and Anna Tunicliffe. The event will be sailed in J/22s on the Severn River in Annapolis.

Stage 2 of the Tour will follow directly after Annapolis with a back-to-back event at the Casa Vela Cup in San Francisco, CA hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club, 2-5 May (race days). Launched last year with its debut on the Women’s World Match Racing Tour, the Casa Vela Cup is also competed in J/22’s with racing directly in front of the St. Francis Yacht Club with its impressive backdrop of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. This year’s event will also finish on a Sunday allowing club members to watch the racing from the upper viewing deck of the club with live commentary.

The Tour then heads to Europe for the Normandy Match Cup in Le Havre, France from 17-20 May (race days), sailed in J80’s. Last year’s Normandy Match Cup event was won by defending event champion and 2022 Women’s World Match Racing Tour champion Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink Normandy Elite Team.

As a new addition to the Women’s World Match Racing Tour for 2024, the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club in Sweden will host eight women’s teams at the Nordea Women’s Trophy – Match Cup Sweden for Stage 4 of the Women’s Tour from 1-6 July. The extended event will take place during the same week as the long-standing GKSS Match Cup Sweden, one of the founding events of the Open World Match Racing Tour, this year celebrating its 30th edition.

Stage 5 of the 2024 Women’s Tour will see the teams return to Skovshoved Harbour in Copenhagen, Denmark from 5-8 Sept (race days) for the third edition of the KDY Women’s Match Race Denmark hosted by the Royal Danish Yacht Club. The event was won last year by defending champions Anna Östling and her Wings Sailing Team from Sweden, who also secured the 2023 Women’s World Match Racing Tour title.

Women’s World Match Racing Tour 2024

Stage 1 – Santa Maria Cup, Annapolis USA, 23-26 April
Stage 2 – Casa Vela Cup, San Francisco USA, 2-5 May
Stage 3 – Normandy Match Cup, Le Havre, 17-20 May
Stage 4 – Nordea Women’s Trophy – Match Cup Sweden, Marstrand, 1-6 July
Stage 5 – KDY Women’s Match Race, Skovshoved, Denmark, 5-8 Sept

*Race days only published

A team’s Tour points total will be the sum of their best three (3) scores.

The team with the highest score at the end of the season will be 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour Champion.

Text and images courtesy of WMRT.