Skippers announced for 2026 Long Beach Yacht Club Ficker Cup
by World Match Racing Tour 24 Feb 06:24 GMT
April 23-26, 2026
Ficker Cup, Long Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach, CA © Ian Roman
The Long Beach Yacht Club announced the full lineup of eight skippers for its 2026 Ficker Cup match racing regatta, to be held April 24 - 26, 2026. The Ficker Cup is a Grade 2 match race event on the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) and serves as a qualifier for the Congressional Cup, with the top two finishers earning invitations to the Congressional Cup, a WMRT Championship event, scheduled for April 29 - May 3, 2026.
The Ficker Cup is named after Bill Ficker, who won the 1970 Americas Cup, as skipper of Intrepid, and the 1974 Congressional Cup.
"We have an amazing lineup for the 2026 Ficker Cup," reports Ficker Cup Event Chair Tom Camp. "All of the skippers selected have proven their mettle either in previous Ficker Cups or on the World Match Racing Tour. Any of the eight could win it."
The four returning competitors are led by Long Beach Yacht Club's own Scotty Dickson, the winningest skipper in Ficker Cup history with 14 prior wins. If Scotty places first or second in the Ficker Cup, he will be making his 23rd attempt at the Congressional Cup. In his previous 22 appearances, Scotty has placed second twice but has never secured a Congressional Cup win. He will be aiming to make 2026 his year.
Nicole Breault of St. Francis Yacht Club will be making her fourth appearance at the Ficker Cup. Nicole placed second in 2025 and subsequently finished ninth at the 2025 Congressional Cup. Since then, she has dialed up the performance of her Vela Racing team finishing first in the 2025 US Women's Match Racing Championship and the US Open Match Racing Qualifier. Nicole ranks #26 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard. If she qualifies again for the Congressional Cup, she will be battling to improve her place from 2025 and could become the first woman skipper to win the Congressional Cup.
The third returning skipper is Chris Weis of Richmond Yacht Club, who won the 2023 Ficker Cup and went on to finish ninth at the Congressional Cup. Chris' recent wins demonstrate that he could win it all this time, after placing first in the second stop of the 2025 California Dreamin' Series at St. Francis Yacht Club and second at the third stop at Balboa Yacht Club. This will be Chris' third appearance at the Ficker Cup.
The final Ficker alumnus chosen is Irish skipper Ruairi Finnegan coming back for his second attempt at the Cup. Ruairi placed eighth in the 2023 regatta but has worked his way up to #30 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard in the intervening three years and will be looking to take one of the two top spots in 2026.
Among the first-time Ficker Cup competitors is Patryk Zbroja of Poland, sailing with his YKP team. Patryk, who has been match racing since 2007, is currently ranked #25 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard and has been ranked previously as high as sixth.
Tom Picot, a young sailor from Australia who has been match racing for 11 years, will also be making his Ficker Cup debut. He has been active on the WMRT climbing to #20 on the 2025 Leaderboard. A top spot in Ficker Cup and a solid showing in Congressional Cup would propel him into a leading position for the 2026 season.
Coming in at #19 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard is Lennard Bal from the Netherlands. This will be his first Ficker Cup with Team Lowlands Racing. With a background in keelboat fleet racing, Lennard made match racing his main sailing activity only two years ago and has competed and placed well in roughly 15 international match racing events.
The final new to the Ficker Cup is Oscar Engström, a young skipper from the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club in Sweden, who is currently ranked #4 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard. Oscar cut his teeth in dinghy racing on 29ers and 49ers before developing a passion for match racing in 2021. Earlier this year, he finished second at the WMRT World Championship Final in Shenzhen, China, losing to Ian Williams and ahead of skippers thus far selected for the 2026 Congressional Cup. It could be an interesting rematch if Oscar secures one of the two Ficker slots in Congressional Cup.
Racing will take place April 24 - 26, 2026 on the Congressional Cup Stadium, just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, California. Free spectator viewing will be available each race day from the end of the Pier. The Ficker Cup will be followed April 29 - May 3, 2026 (preceded by practice on April 28), with ten of the world's top match racing skippers competing in The Long Beach Yacht Club's Congressional Cup.
For more information on Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup visit www.thecongressionalcup.com and visit wmrt.com for more details on the World Match Racing Tour.
2026 Ficker Cup Skippers
1. Oscar Engström, SWE (WS rank #16)
2. Nicole Breault, USA (WS rank #17)
3. Lennard Bal, NED (WS rank #18)
4. Patryk Zbroja, POL (WS rank #19)
5. Tom Picot, AUS (WS rank #26)
6. Ruairi Finnegan, IRL (WS rank #33)
7. Chris Weis, USA (WS rank #68)
8. Scotty Dickson, USA (WS rank #210)
World Sailing ranking as of 1 February 2026.