2015 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships - One week to go

by Fettje Osinga on 1 Jul 2015 It’s exactly one week to go until the 2015 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championships. The two top ranked Dutch teams (Team Zuiderbaan and Team She Sails) are getting ready by making their final training hours on the water at Waterland Monnickendam, before traveling to Middelfart Denmark where the first races will start on the eighth of July.

The teams

Klaartje Zuiderbaan is a true veteran when it comes to match racing. She is currently ranked seventh on the world ranking and will sail the worlds with Mijke Lievens, Brechtje van der Werf, Sanne Akkerman en Anne-Christianne Kentgens as Team Zuiderbaan.

Team She Sails is sailing together for about a year now and is ranked 18 on the world ranking. Skipper Rikst Dijkstra is sailing with Rozan Gilles, Mirthe Kramer, Sanne Crum en Fettje Osinga. The goal is top ten of the World by the end of the season.

Joining forces

Match racing is an upcoming sailing discipline in the Netherlands. The game where only two boats will battle for that single important win on a short race course. ‘It’s important that we join forces to get the overall level of match racing higher. For our team it’s great to be able to work together with the best match racing team of our country towards such a big event and we’re really happy that we can get our training hours in with the support of Waterland Yachtcharter,’ says Fettje of Team She Sails.

Klaartje adds that it’s great to enhance each other by training together as the exact positioning in match racing is crucial and you can’t simulate those situations by yourself. Thanks to Waterland we have two identical boats, which is one of the most important requirements in this game.

One more day of training ahead, this weekend in Monnickendam. From then the game begins and both teams will go head to head during the ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Denmark.