World Match Racing Tour – First female entry for Match Race Germany

by WMRT Media on 7 May 2010 Match Race Germany, Stage two of the ISAF World Match Racing Tour, has invited its first ever female entry to take part in the 13th edition. Twenty-six-year-old Kathrin Kadelback (GER) EWE Sailing Team will be helming with back up from Ulrike Schümann as her tactician.

Both Match Race Germany and the ISAF World Match Racing Tour actively welcomes female entries to the Tour series which provides an amazing opportunity for these sailors to race against some of the world class match racers on a level field.

Kadelback is originally a 470 dinghy helm having finished 10th overall at the 2008 World Championships, she then moved into women’s match racing when it became an Olympic discipline as did many of the world’s top female athletes.

Kadelback made the decision to step back slightly and helm for Schümann who already had a fourth place at the Games in the Yngling class. This produced a very successful team dynamic and the ladies finished second in the 2009 World Cup.

At the Qualifier for Match Race Germany, the Open German Championship, the helm and crew decided to change positions.

'I moved into skipper position and Schümann chose to be tactician for training purposes and also for fun,' Kadelback explained about the change. This new set up produced a winning overall result out of all the male and female entries and guaranteed Kadelback’s wild card entry to the ISAF World Match Racing Tour, Stage two.

'Competing at Match Race Germany is a big pleasure for our team as we are able to race against the best teams in the world,' said Kadelback. This will be the first time in Match Race Germany’s history that there will be a female contending and is, rightly so, a proud moment for the two ladies.

The ISAF World Match Racing Tour’s success is due to the dynamic set of annual tour card holders and wild card entries who always provide excellent match racing action on the race course and sporting brilliance for the fans to aspire to. The skippers and their crews are who make the Tour events come alive with big personalities and their own personal campaign stories.

Tactician for the EWE Sailing Team, Schümann, is Germany’s best known female sailor with 20 years of successful international racing and has competed at Olympic standard until recently. Originally from Berlin, Schümann is very adept at transferring her competitive sailing skills across different disciplines and yacht/dinghy models.

The lady racers know that competition will be tough as the WMRT tour card holders are renowned for their elite level of match racing ability. However, they are backed up by three extra male crew with their EWE Sailing Team including Johannes Polgar, who finished in top 10 position at the 2009 Star World Championships and was placed eighth in the Tornado class at the Olympic Games, as well as Wolfi Dietz, who has previous America’s Cup experience. 'We have a good diversity of successful sailing experience onboard!' said Kathrin.

The ladies are experienced and effective communicators in their close-knit crew and with a bigger team this time, they see that this will add to their overall experience. In addition, they feel that their reduced overall weight may prove to be positive in the lighter airs on Lake Constance.

Their overall match racing skills will be an asset to them within the competition having been coached by the likes of Sten Mohr. The team is now more concerned with mastering the skills of boat handling in a yacht as they are used to smaller and lighter models than the Bavaria 35 Match. The experience of racing a yacht with a wheel at the helm is a big step for Kadelback.

Kadelback is supported by the EWE AG Oldenburg which founded EWE Sailing Team in 2000 to support Olympic sailors. She has been a member of this team since 2006 and has gained a scholarship for her studies in business administration, demonstrating her ability to balance both sport and study.

Still in the prime of her racing career Kathrin is committed to setting up a 470 Olympic campaign for 2012 after Match Race Germany. She is aiming to race against the world’s top players at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy with the essential ongoing support of EWE Sailing Team, Kadelback said, 'Without the support of the EWE Sailing Team it would not be possible for me to pursue my racing career.'

The 2010 WMRT Tour card holders will definitely have to factor in the female entry at Match Race Germany as they could produce a surprising number of wins during the light air race days.

'We will fight for every race, try our best and see what happens, we will enjoy every race,' commented the female skipper.