Favorites lead WIM Series China

Shanghai, China (October 12, 2019) – The first day of racing at China International Women’s Match Race at Dishui Lake took off with a steady breeze at 12 knots and gusts up to 16 knots.

After day one we find Pauline Courtois, ranked #1 in the World, at the top of the leaderboard with 5 wins and no losses. “We are happy with our first day,” noted Courtois. “The 5 flights allowed us to find our feeling and get our boathandling back.”

The local Chinese team, Team FAREAST Ladies, with Xiaowen Ni as skipper won one match and were satisfied with their first day: ”We are happy with our performance today and had some tight matches. We need to improve the tactical game against these top teams. We will countinue our hard work.”

As the breeze picked up during the day the less experienced teams showed that they are having a steep learning curve in the challenging Fareast 28r boats, while the top teams made some expected wins.

Day One Results:
1. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 5-0, 5
2. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 3-0, 3
3. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 3-0, 3
4. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA, 4-1, 4
5. Clare Costanzo, Fusion Australia, AUS, 2-1, 2
6. Celia Willison, Edge Racing, NZL, 3-2, 3
7. Lea Richter Vogelius, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 2-3, 2
8. Ekaterina Chashchina, Seven Feet Team, RUS, 1-2, 1
9. Xiaowen Ni, Team Fareast Ladies, CHN, 1-4, 1
10. Megan Thomson, 2.0 Women’s Racing, NZL, 0-3, 0
11. Yuting Lu, Team Joinsailing Ladies, CHN, 0-3, 0
12. Eunjin Kim, Team Ladies, KOR, 0-5, 0

WIM Series – Event details – Results – Facebook – Past winners

Format: Racing in the Fareast 28R is from October 12 to 16, beginning with the round robin where all teams will face each other. The top four teams from the round robin advance to the quarterfinals while the next six will have a second change in the repechage stage to advance to the quarter-finals. The semi-finals and finals will follow.

Standings in WIM Series 2019 (after two events)
1. Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, Pauline Courtois – FRA, 43
2. WINGS, Anna Östling – SWE, 38
3. Team Emerson, Marie Björling Duell – SWE, 30
4. Team Mac, Lucy Macgregor – GBR, 25
5. Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, Margot Vennin – FRA, 25
6. L2 Match Racing Team, Marinella Laaksonen – FIN, 25
7. Mermaid Sailing Team / New Sweden Match Racing Team, Claire Leroy – FRA, 22
8. Team Kattnakken, Trine Palludan / Lea Richter Vogelius – DEN, 22
9. Dutch Match Racing Team, Renée Groeneveld – NED, 18
10. Team Bergqvist Match Racing, Johanna Bergqvist – SWE, 12
11. APCC Women Sailing Team, Margot Riou – FRA, 12
12. Vela Racing, Nicole Breault – USA, 10
13. No Name Sailing Team, Chloé Le Bars – FRA, 10
14. Swiss Women Match Racing Team, Alexa Bezel – SUI, 6

Background:
The Women’s International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) was formed in 1996 and is an international association of women sailors whose mission is to expand and strengthen global match racing and promote opportunities for competitive women’s sailing at every level.

WIMRA created the first and only professional sailing series for women in 2013 – the Women’s International Match Racing Series (WIM Series). The WIM Series delivers a global circuit of competition to test the world’s best sailors in a format of round robin and knock-out matches.

2019 WIM Series Schedule:
June 6-9 – Normandie Match Cup 2019 – Le Havre, France
August 6-10 – Women’s Match Racing World Championship (Lysekil Women’s Match) – Lysekil, Sweden
October 11-16 – China International Women’s Match Race – Shanghai, China

Source: WIM Series