Marstrand, Sweden (1 July 2024) The 30th anniversary of GKSS Match Cup Sweden got underway today in picture postcard conditions for the eighteen match racing teams competing at the six-day event including ten open teams, and eight all-female teams racing in the 2024 Nordea Womenโs Trophy. It is the first time the event has hosted both the World Match Racing Tour and Womenโs World Match Racing Tour in the same week.
As the fresh SW breeze grew during the today with 18-20 knots and clear blue skies, teams from both events were tested to their limits with the nimble Far East 28 yachts finding their pace in the downwind swell.
First to the course in the morning was the eight womenโs teams competing for the 2024 Nordea Womenโs Trophy including Team WINGS (world rank #1) skippered by Anna รstling, and former womenโs match racing world champion Pauline Courtois (world rank #2) with her Match in Pink team from Normandy, France. Both teams started the event with a strong start, posting two wins from their first two races.
Also scoring early wins in the qualifying round robin was Swedenโs Martina Carlsson (Beyond Racing Team, world rank #47) and Renee Groenveld (Dutch Match Racing Team, world rank #21) from the Netherlands – each team posted three wins from five races.
In the Open GKSS Match Cup Sweden class, Denmarkโs Jeppe Borch and his Borch Racing team won their two races of the day, with USAโs Chris Poole (Riptide Racing), Swedenโs Johnie Berntsson (Berntsson Sailing Team), New Zealandโs Nick Egnot-Johnson (Knots Racing) and Aurรฉlien Pierroz from France also posting two wins.
โWhat an amazing start to the event in 18-20 knots and sunshineโ commented Borch on the opening day’s conditions. โWe had a great day but we know itโs still early in the regatta and we can see the other teams here this week are very competitive.โ
Despite the perfect ‘Marstrand’ conditions for the opening day of the anniversary event, the forecast is expected to change towards the latter part of the week with stronger winds likely for the weekend.
โWe always expect changing weather here in Marstrandโ added Event Manager Mattias Rahm, a previous competitor and winner of GKSS Match Cup Sweden in 2008. โIt does look like we will have some stronger winds later this week and possibly in to the weekend, but we have a fantastic team, and we are well prepared.โ
Racing starts tomorrow 2 July at 10am local time.
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Results after Day 1
ABOUT WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
Founded in 2000, the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) promotes the sport of match racing around the world and is the longest running global professional series in the sport of sailing. The WMRT is awarded โSpecial Eventโ status by the sportโs world governing body โ World Sailing โ and the winner of the WMRT each year is crowned World Sailing Match Racing World Champion. Since 2000, the World Match Racing Tour and its events have awarded over USD24million in prize money to sailors which has helped to contribute to the career pathway of many of todayโs professional sailors. www.wmrt.com