WOMEN’S MATCH RACING COMING TO AUCKLAND

Auckland and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will host the final event of the inaugural Women’s World Match Racing Tour, November 9–13. The Women’s Match Racing World Championships will see 14 skippers invited to take part, including last year’s champion and world number one Pauline Courtois and her Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team. The 2022 New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship will also act as a qualifier for a wildcard berth into this year’s World Championships.

“We can’t wait for the Women’s Match Racing World Championship to be held in Auckland, and to have the first-ever Women’s World Match Racing Tour being decided on the Hauraki Gulf – it’s a great opportunity for New Zealand’s women match racing teams to test themselves against, and learn from, the best in the world”, says RNZYS Sailing Director Laurie Jury.

“It’s also fantastic to be able to invite world-class sailing events like this back to New Zealand waters, and we hope to see the Women’s World Match Racing Tour go from strength to strength in its debut season.”

Match Racing uses the same racing format as the America’s Cup, where two teams compete against one another in one-design Elliott 7 keelboats.

The Women’s Match Racing World Championships will see the 14 teams compete a round robin, teams racing each other once, with the top eight qualifying to the best-of-three quarterfinals, semi-finals and final to decide both the 2022 Women’s Match Racing World Champion – and the overall winner of the inaugural Women’s World Match Racing Tour. www.womenswmrt.com