Looking forward to tough battles during Women's Match Racing Worlds in Lysekil

Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team during today's training - Lysekil Women's Match Racing Worlds 2019 © Dan Ljungsvik

Tomorrow, Tuesday, marks the start of Lysekil Women's Match also the official World Championship for women - Five days of sailing awaits for the twelve teams fighting for the World Champion title 2019.

Lysekil Women's Match has, since the start in 2004, evolved into the leading international match racing event for women on the WIMSeries circuit. This year the event is even bigger than before, and perhaps even more prestigious, as it has been awarded official World Championship status from World Sailing.

Liz Baylis, the event Race Official, is confident that it will be a week of tough competition and is looking forward to seeing how it unfolds:- I think this is going to be a great Championship. With the history Lysekil has of running an event of this caliber it really makes no difference that it is a World Championship, they have run this event for years, always in spectacular fashion.

Looking at the forecast, we will see all different kinds of conditions this week: we have some days that look light, and a few with more wind, the forecast also predicts some rain, but we are hoping for more sun - typical Swedish weather. Looking at the list of competitors it is a very competitive field, so we should see some very competitive racing. You really can't count any one out, everyone has a real chance to win. It will be interesting to see if Lucy (Macgregor) can defend her title or if we see a new champion this year.

Team Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, with skipper Pauline Courtois, ranked number one in the world, are back after last yeas win here in Lysekil looking for a repeat: - It is my fifth year in Lysekil and I am very happy to be back. During training this morning the team had a chance to get comfortable with the boat again, as we have not sailed it for a little while, says Pauline after today's training session.

Team Emerson - Lysekil Women's Match Racing Worlds 2019 - photo © Dan Ljungsvik

Marie Björling Duell, skipper of Team Emerson, competed in Lysekil last time the World Championship was held here in 2009, and are excited to be back: - We love to sail in Lysekil, so it is extra exciting to be here sailing a World Championship. My feeling is that it might even be more fun for all the Swedish crews with the audience cheering on, but when you are racing, it is not really something you think that much of. We are here to sail our best, and if we can do the we know we can go far in the competition. But we will take it one day at a time, our first step is to go through Round Robin to the quarterfinals.

The first racing day is on Tuesday, August 6th. The competition is then determined in a round robin where all teams face each other. The best teams from the round robin reach the quarter-finals, which are followed by semi-finals and the final. The final will be raced on Saturday, August 10th.

Line-up for Lysekil Women's Match: (Skipper, country, ranking July 2019)

Pauline Courtois, 1, (FRA)
Anna Östling, 2, (SWE)
Johanna Bergqvist, 3, (SWE)
Trine Palludan, 4, (DEN)
Nicole Breault, 5, (USA)
Marinella Laaksonen, 6, (FIN)
Margot Vennin, 7, (FRA)
Alexa Bezel, 10, (SUI)
Claire Leroy, 13, (FRA)
Lucy Macgregor, 18, (GBR) - 2018 World Champion
Renée Groeneveld, 20, (NED)
Marie Björling, 22, (SWE)