Ulrikkeholm back on the WIM Series

Camilla Ulrikkeholm at the ISAF Women's Match Racing Worlds © ISAF

The Women's International Match Racing Series (WIM Series) welcomes current world #1, Camilla Ulrikkeholm of the Royal Danish Yacht Club, back to the second season. She will come well prepared to this year's first event, the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in Cork, Ireland, June 3–8

"We've been practising on our home waters, and will add a J/80 regatta in Helsinki this weekend" says Camilla, who finished third in the WIM Series' inaugural year 2013.

On April 16 Camilla Ulrikkeholm regained the top spot of the ISAF women's match racing world ranking that she held also for a period last summer, now with the clear ambition to stay on that position a bit longer than then. During the long and cold Scandinavian winter, Ulrikkeholm has kept her successful crew together and in great shape with, for instance, some team building activities:

"Actually we hired two coaches, divided our crew in two teams and practised curling for a change. That was great fun!" she laughs, revealing that her team won the competition.

Since Easter Camilla and her crew have been back to normal procedures, focusing on sailing as much as they possibly can. Preferably they've practised in the J/80's of their home club in Skovshoved, just north of the Danish capital Copenhagen. J/80's will be used in the first event of the 2014 WIM Series season, the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in Cork, Ireland, June 3 – 8. Finishing runner-up at last year's World Championship in Busan, Korea, the Danish team now wants their revenge:

"We've never sailed in Cork before, but we're quite confident anyway. We've done a lot of research about the venue, we know the boat very well and we're definitely as tuned together as a crew should be" Camilla says, explaining their strategy:

"We'll just handle it the same way we usually do; first of all arrive early to spend a day finding out all the practical details about lodging and so on. Then do some practising and get to know the boat. And finally work our way into the regatta, by using the first matches to learn about the local conditions."

It may sound easy when described like that, but the truth is that Ulrikkeholm & Co will have to face fierce competition from some of the world's foremost women match racing sailors, so the Danes can take nothing for granted. Nevertheless their goal is to win the WIM Series this season, and therefore they intend to race all of the events, except in Sheboygan, USA: "I quit dinghy sailing due to a hurting back, and I can't cope with the hiking an Elliott 6M demands" Camilla sighs about the boat type used in the US event of the WIM Series.

"And we're still negotiating for the time off from work for all of the events, but are hopeful that good results early will make it happen" she concludes with more laughter.

The good mood and relaxed but focused attitude of Camilla Ulrikkeholm seems promising...

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