Rolex 2000 ISAF Womens World Match Racing - Day 1
by Dana Paxton 27 Nov 2000 13:08 GMT
With black skies, pouring rain and no sign of wind for the better part of the afternoon, organizers officially cancelled today’s racing at the Rolex 2000 ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship. "It’s only a slight delay in the schedule. We have a half-day of racing to make up," said Event Co-Chair Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg, Fla.). "It’s very doable to complete a full round in one day, but it will take a lot of stamina by the teams."
Racing will resume tomorrow on Tampa Bay with each skipper seeded 9 to 24 sailing against each other in Sonar keelboats. Hannah Swett (New York, N.Y./Jamestown, R.I.), who is coming off a very successful year of match racing, is seeded 16.
The top-eight seeded skippers and teams get a bye from racing until Tuesday, when the second round is tentatively scheduled to begin. World No. 2 and the 1998 winner of this event, Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.) will face Dru Slattery (Marblehead, Mass.), defending champion Dorte Jensen (DEN), Klaartje Zuiderbaan (NED), Cordelia Eglin (GBR), Paula Lewin (BER), Shirley Robertson (GBR), and Christine Briand (FRA).
The quarterfinal round will follow later in the week, with the final round scheduled for Saturday, December 2. The winning skipper of the Rolex 2000 ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship will be awarded a Rolex timepiece.
At tonight’s opening ceremony at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, ISAF Technical Representative Hans-Kurt Andersen will officially welcome teams representing the U.S., Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and The Netherlands.
Supporting sponsors of the Rolex 2000 ISAF Women's World Match Racing Championship are Condé Nast Publications/SELF magazine and Florida 2012, an organization working to bring the Olympics to the Tampa Bay area.
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