2019 China International Women's Match Race in Shanghai - Day 1

Seven Feet Team (RUS) and 2.0 Women's Racing (NZL) racing on day one of the 2019 China International Women's Match Race © CIWMR 2019

The first day of racing at China International Women's Match Race at Dishui Lake took off in perfect sailing conditions. With a steady breeze at 12 knots and gusts up to 16 knots.

After the first flight of the day all the teams came ashore to be present at the grand opening ceremony. Many dignitaries attended including Ms. Zhang Xiaodong, President of the Chinese Yachting Association; Mr. Li Quanhai, Vice President of World Sailing; Mr. Xu Bin, Secretary of CPC Committee of Shanghai Sports Bureau; Mr. Chen Jie, Deputy Director of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-gang Special Area Administration; Ms. Liz Baylis, Match Racing Committee Chair of World Sailing; Mr. Wang Haiwei, Secretary of CPC Committee of Shanghai Competitive Sports Training Center; Mr. Hu Zhiqiang, Chief Executive of Shanghai Pudong New Area Nanhui New town; Mr. Zhao Rongshan, President of Shanghai Rowing Canoeing Yachting Association; Ms. Anna Holmdahl White, Director of Women's International Match Racing Series; and Ms. Du Yingying, President of International FAREAST 28R Class Association. After lunch the teams were ready to go again and throughout the day the Race Committee were able to run 8 flights.

After day one we find Pauline Courtois, ranked #1 in the World, at the top of the leaderboard with 5 wins and no losses. The skipper of the Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team felt good about the day: "We are happy with our first day. The 5 flights allowed us to find our feeling and get our boathandling back. The organization takes really good care of us, we feel like princesses! We can't wait for the next matches tomorrow!"

The local Chinese team, Team FAREAST Ladies, with Xiaowen Ni as skipper won one match and were satisfied with their first day: "We are happy with our performance today and had some tight matches. We need to improve the tactical game against these top teams. We will countinue our hard work."

As the breeze picked up during the day the less experienced teams showed that they are having a steep learning curve in the challenging Fareast 28r boats, while the top teams made some expected wins.

2019 China International Women's Match Race - photo © CIWMR 2019

Results after Day 1 of the round-robin:
(skipper, team name, nationality, wins - losses, points)

1. Pauline Courtois, Match in Pink by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 5-0, 5
2. Johanna Bergqvist, Team Bergqvist Match Racing, SWE, 3-0, 3
3. Margot Vennin, Matchmoiselles by Normandy Elite Team, FRA, 3-0, 3
4. Margot Riou, APCC Women Sailing Team, FRA, 4-1, 4
5. Clare Costanzo, Fusion Australia, AUS, 2-1, 2
6. Celia Willison, Edge Racing, NZL, 3-2, 3
7. Lea Richter Vogelius, Team Kattnakken, DEN, 2-3, 2
8. Ekaterina Chashchina, Seven Feet Team, RUS, 1-2, 1
9. Xiaowen Ni, Team Fareast Ladies, CHN, 1-4, 1
10. Megan Thomson, 2.0 Women's Racing, NZL, 0-3, 0
11. Yuting Lu, Team Joinsailing Ladies, CHN, 0-3, 0
12. Eunjin Kim, Team Ladies, KOR, 0-5, 0

For more information on the 2019 WIM Series, visit www.wimseries.com.