Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship - Preview
by The WOKC Team 31 Mar 2019 09:12 BST
1-2 June 2019
Redeye in the Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championship 2018 © Bertrand Malas
Dubarry returns as sponsor for the 11th edition of the Women's Open Keelboat Championship
This year the event, hosted once again by Hamble River Sailing Club, is being held on the weekend of 1st & 2nd June 2019. The volunteer team which organises WOKC is delighted that Dubarry has agreed to return as title sponsor, having been a generous supporter of the championships since their inception in 2008 and having been the title sponsor for the last seven events. Participants in the Dubarry Women's Open Keelboat Championships will have the opportunity to win much admired Dubarry items, which will be available as prizes for class winners and in the overall Championship.
The organisers are looking forward to offering two days of fun and competitive racing on the water along with some great social events ashore with funds being raised for the event's two charities Breast Cancer Care and the Hamble Lifeboat. WOKC aims to provide high quality racing amongst female sailors whilst also offering an environment that is encouraging to female sailors newly entering the competitive side of the sport. The Magenta Project are once again supporting the event by offering a coaching session on the afternoon of 31st May. This is a fantastic opportunity for our competitors and we hope to see lots of boats on the water taking advantage of this.
"We are extremely grateful to Dubarry for their continued support, which enables this regatta to continue. Hamble River Sailing Club work hard every year to provide us with fantastic racing and we are delighted that Kathy Smalley has agreed to act as Principle Race Officer once again. The event is great fun, and although we compete passionately on the water the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming" said Jen Smyth of the WOKC organising committee.
Long standing supporter and competitor Laura Dillon commented, "I am delighted to be participating in another WOKC. Every year, this is a great event and I am really looking forward to the Magenta Project coaching on Friday, 31st May and WOKC on 1 and 2 June. WOKC continues to go from strength to strength both in terms of number of boats, size of boats, number of ladies racing and the standard of the competition continues to increase, which is fantastic! I have participated for over 5 years now and I look forward to the regatta annually. Thanks so much to Dubarry for their continued support and hopefully we can continue to grow WOKC and encourage as many female sailors as possible to participate in 2019 and beyond!"
Entries open on Thursday 28th of March and early entry is advised to take advantage of the earlybird booking fee of £75, available until 17:00 on Friday 17th May. After that date, entry fee will increase to £95. Boat entry is available from HRSC either online or via the admin team on 02380 452070.
If you would like further details, please contact the WOKC organising team on , check out www.womensopenkeelboatchampionships.co.uk or register your interest on Eventbrite.
The Women's Open Keelboat Championship was founded in 2008 by a group of passionate female sailors who wanted to compete in challenging racing against other women. Over the years the team behind the regatta has evolved but the vision has remained the same.
The organisers are all volunteers and donations of support, time and charity raffle prizes are all gratefully received. The event is non-profit making with all proceeds going to a nominated charity or group of charities including Breast Cancer Care and the Hamble Lifeboat Trust.