In 2008 the Nordic Women’s Match Racing Tour will take place for the first time. This gives ladies in Scandinavia an opportunity to develop their match racing skills and to get the opportunity to win the title of Nordic Match Racing Champion!
The idea came up when the sailor Anna Kjellberg, Sweden, and her crew noticed that they only had sailed in open competitions against the men during the previous year. “Absolutely, there are benefits to compete against male crews, you learn to sail more aggressively. But, sailing is a physical sport and it’s hard sometimes to stand up against the guys when it’s windy. At the top level in match racing, the ladies compete against other ladies and to be able to chase important points for the world ranking chart we must get the chance to sail more ladies competitions close to home”, says Anna.
With help from Maria Malmros, also a match racing sailor, Anna and Maria have organized the first Scandinavian common match racing tour. This is a long-term project and the purpose is to attract more ladies to this sport and to give existing teams a better chance to reach the top level faster.
The goals are very high and within a three years period it is hoped that sailors, sponsors and spectators will make the Tour a successful, exciting and asked for competition.
Ladies crew from Scandinavia are already making a good showing when facing the world competition. With the Nordic Women’s Match Racing Tour more teams will get the opportunity to compete at the top-level on their home turf. The thought is that teams should not need to be dependent on huge sponsors to cover travel to distant events in order to become capable sailors.
“Already we can see that ladies competitions are very sought after. Many teams have pre registered for the four competitions”, says Maria. “We are very happy to see that the teams cover a large range of experience, from World #3 Lotte Meldgaard from Denmark to beginners will attend.”
The Tour encompasses four competitions. After the last competition a Tour winner will be named, the winner will also get the title Nordic Champion.
The opening event will be in Malmö – Sweden in May. The second event will take place in Helsinki – Finland later in May. The Tour will continue in September in Copenhagen - Denmark and then the final event will be in Gothenburg - Sweden.
For more information contact the Tour Organizers at NordicTour@yahoo.com
