ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship Skippers confirmed

by ISAF on 28 Aug 2010
The skipper line up for the 2010 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships is confirmed.

20 of the world's best women's match racing teams representing 14 nations will compete for the World title from 20 to 25 September in New York, USA. The 2010 Championship is organized by the New York Yacht Club and will be sailed on Narragansett Bay near Newport using the yacht club's fleet of 13 Sonars.

Top of the list is defending champion Nicky Souter (AUS) fresh from victory at the final regatta of the 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup in Weymouth. The #1 skipper on the ISAF Women's World Match Race Rankings, Lucy Macgregor (GBR) finished a disappointing ninth in 2009 but is a clear favourite for the 2010 title. One of the very best women's match racers in the world, MacGregor will be fighting to become the first British skipper to ever reach the podium at the Women's Worlds.

Relative newcomer to the women's match racing circuit after making the transition from the Yngling, Renee Groeneveld (NED) will be making her Women's Worlds debut in 2010. Groeneveld won her first ISAF Sailing World Cup regatta at Skandia Sail for Gold in 2009 and followed this with a win Palma this year, she is currently ranked #7 in the world. Another skipper making the move from fleet racing is Anna Tunnicliffe, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist in the Laser Radial. Tunnicliffe is ranked at #3 in the world after a busy season which included four World Cup podium finishes.

Long time ranking leader and World Champion in 2007 and 2008 Claire Leroy (FRA) completes the top five names on the competitor list. Leroy claimed the 2009-2010 World Cup crown and is currently ranked at #2 in the world. Leroy is not the only skipper on the entry list to already own two world championship gold medals, US skipper Sally Barkow won the title in 2004 and 2005 and will be back to try and win her third. Another veteran skipper to the event is Denmark's Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN) who has sailed at every championship since her bronze medal winning debut as skipper in 2001. Meldgaard-Pedersen went on to win the silver in 2003 and her second bronze in 2007 but the talented Dane is yet to lay her hands on the trophy and complete her set of medals with a gold.

Wild card entries went to multiple Olympic medallist and four time 470 World Champion Sofia Bekatorou (GRE) and Petra Kliba from Croatia. The full list of skippers and their most recent ISAF Women's Match Racing World Ranking is below.

Name (Nation) - ISAF World Ranking at 4 August 2010
1. Nicky Souter (AUS) - 8
2. Lucy Macgregor (GBR) - 1
3. Renee Groeneveld (NED) - 7
4. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) - 3
5. Claire Leroy (FRA) - 2
6. Katie Spithill (AUS) - 6
7. Anne-claire Le berre (FRA) - 5
8. Julie Bossard (FRA) - 9
9. Genevieve Tulloch (USA) - 10
10. Sally Barkow (USA) - 12
11. Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN) - 13
12. Camilla Ulrikkeholm (DEN) - 15
13. Samantha Osborne (NZL) - 18
14. Juliana Senfft (BRA) - 17
15. Silja Lehtinen (FIN) - 14
16. Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) - 11
17. Silvia Roca mata (ESP) - 19
18. Rita Gonçalves (POR) - 25
WC. Sofia Bekatorou (GRE) - 34
WC. Petra Kliba (CRO) - 22


All the latest details on the 2010 Worlds, together with an archive of results from previous championships is available on the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship microsite at www.sailing.org/wmatchworlds