Harken Women's Match Racing Regatta

Mar-09-10 - Event Expired

Since the announcement that match racing will be included into the sailing regatta at the 2012 Olympics, never has the competition in women’s match racing been so fierce. With last year’s champion and world number 1 ranked women’s match racer Claire Leroy not making the trip down under, the Harken Women’s International Match Racing Regatta is up for the taking.

Four teams from the Australian Sailing & Development squad will take part in the regatta with leading skippers Katie Spithill (ISAF ranking 7), Nicky Souter (ISAF ranking 10), Amanda Scrivenor (ISAF ranking 31) and Lucinda Whitty (ISAF Ranking 42) at the helm. They will be joined by two teams from Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron helmed by Samantha Osborne (ISAF Ranking 29) and Stephanie Hazard (ISAF Ranking 121) and one team each from Iate Clube Brasileiro, (Brazil) Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Women’s Sailing Association of Santa Monica Bay (USA) and the host club Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

Spithill and her team have achieved success abroad this year, cementing the twenty six-year old’s credentials on the international match racing circuit. Even though her ranking has dropped from third in 2008 to seventh in the world this year (after having a break of four months from the sport), she is still Australia’s highest ranked woman match racer. Her recent results include first in Nations Cup Oceanic Regional final (2008), Silver Medallist – ISAF Women’s Match Racing Worlds (2007), first in Australian Women’s Match Racing Nationals (2007) and first in Rolex Osprey Cup (2007).