It's time! History about to unfold at the Puig Women's America's Cup with Andoo Team Australia
by Andoo Team Australia 6 Oct 2024 00:09 AEST
5-13 October 2024
Here we go! The Puig Women's America's Cup skippers official photo © Ia Roman / America's Cup
History is in the making in Barcelona a day away from the start of the Puig Women's America's Cup on October 5th and Andoo Team Australia has taken to the stage.
Today our skipper Olivia Price represented not only our team and our nation on stage for the launch media conference, she also stepped into the history books as a member of the first ever 12 nation women's competition in this prestigious 173 year old sporting event. She acknowledged the significance of the occasion stating "It still gives me goosebumps to be able to say that we are part of history". She said the opportunity to sail with and against the best women sailors in the world was 'surreal' and she welcomed the chance to reconnect Australia's history with the Cup through the women's competition to take a step forward and continue to be part of the event in the future.
All 12 skippers spoke of their own lifelong ambitions in their chosen sport and the overwhelming importance of the opportunity to give inspiration to females around the world in sailing. Organisers invited a number of young women to ask the athletes questions via video posts broadcast on stage to connect the future generations of female sailors to the momentous moment.
Price described the experience on the AC40 as exhilarating and the most fun she has ever had sailing. Asked about whether the women should now be considered in the AC75 teams she said this first pathway step was intended to bridge the experience gap and allow women to compete for the same spots as equals in future.
Announcers told the packed media contingent that almost 80 female sailors would be represented in the competition, including 17 Olympic medallists and a haul of 58 World Championship wins amongst the athletes.
The racing for the Puig Women's America's Cup regatta starts for Australia this Sunday, 6 October.
Media master folder below for racing and squad imagery, VNR and updates.
Current overall positions can be found here when racing starts
5 October - Update
The inaugural Puig Women's America's Cup began in Barcelona today, as Group A (teams with a parent America's Cup team) battled in a developing breeze and sea state. It made for a day that had it all, from tactical decisions to big splash-downs - and even a "foiling graveyard" at one bottom mark as the breeze shifted.
The Athena Pathway team came out of the blocks firing, and continued to feature in the starts of each of the four races. They went on to win the first race, with two seconds and a third, in race three, where a splashdown cost them the win.
The favourites leading into racing, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, responded to a difficult first race in which they finished fourth, with wins in the rest of the days races and lead the overall standings at the end of day one, four points clear of Athena Pathway.
After a mixed day that included some gutsy fightbacks, Emirates Team New Zealand are in third place overall to round out the teams above the cut line for the semi-final, half way through their qualifying round.
The mixed conditions gave Andoo Team Australia and the rest of Group B plenty to learn from ahead of the kick off of their racing tomorrow.
Andoo Team Australia is on water tomorrow, Sunday 6 October, for Group B Qualifying Racing.
The schedule is for four races, starting from 2:00pm CEST (11:00pm AEST).