Breaking News:
Finland, Spain, and Denmark Qualify for the Olympics
The Final Country is Selected at the 2012 WMR International Country Olympic Qualifying Regatta
The final day of racing in Key Biscayne left one major question to be answered: Who will be the last country to qualify for a spot in the 2012 Women’s Match Racing Event at the 2012 Olympic Games? Denmark took and early 2-0 lead in the best of five series, but Argentina fought back with two wins to force a thrilling race five. In the final race, Denmark had a great start and led most of the race until 300 meters from the finish when the Argentinian’s were able to steal the wind from the Danes. The Danes stayed just enough in control until it was time to gybe for the finish and were able to hang on for the win!
In the other match on the water, Finland won all three matches over the Spanish to win the event. Although in most events the Finals on the last day are the premier match to watch, in this event all eyes were on the Petit-Finals to see who would be the last country to punch their tickets to the Olympics. The Argentinians and Danes did not disappoint the spectators!
Final Day’s Results:
Final: Finland defeats Spain 3-0
Petit-Final: Denmark defeats Argentina 3-2
The top three countries from this event (Finland, Spain, and Denmark) will will join the nine countries that have already qualified for the2012 Olympic Sailing Competition (Australia, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Russia, and USA).
Final Standings:
1 - FINLAND - Silja Lehtinen, Mikaela Wulff, Silja Kanerva
2 - SPAIN - Tamara Echegoyen, Angela Pumariega, Sofía Toro
3 - DENMARK - Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Susanne Boidin, Tina Schmidt Gramkov
4 - ARGENTINA - Martina Silva, Ana Lucía Silva, María Trinidad Silva
5 - SLOVENIA - Vesna Dekleva Paoli, Katarina Kersevan, Lena Koter
6 - GERMANY - Silke Hahlbrock, Anke Lukosch, Maren Hahlbrock
7 - CANADA - Sharon Ferris-Choat, Caroline Kaars Sijpesteijn, Joanne Prokop
8 - CHINA - Ru Wang, Li Xiaoni, Pan Ting Ting
9 - BRAZIL - Renata Decnop, Gabriela Nicolino, Larissa Juk
The 2102 WMRICOQR have been hosted by Key Biscayne Yacht Club, WIMRA, and Sail Sheboygan with the support of North Sails.
Women's Match Racing International Country Olympic Qualifying Regatta - February 1-5, 2012
The final battle for Olympic country qualification in Women’s Match Racing
The 2011 Women’s Match World Championship qualified 8 countries to send a team to the Olympics. Those countries are (Australia, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Russia and USA) and they will join GBR (host country) at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition. Three slots remain and they will be decided in Key Biscayne this week.
To qualify those final 3 countries, Sail Sheboygan, WIMRA and Key Biscayne Yacht Club will run the Women’s Match Race Country Qualifier. Feb 2-5 will see teams from nine countries come together to compete to qualify their country for one of those final spots. The countries still vying to qualify are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Slovenia, and Spain. They have each sent one team to compete.
Representing their countries will be:
ARGENTINA - Martina Silva, Ana Lucía Silva, María Trinidad Silva (ISAF Ranking = 29)
BRAZIL - Renata Decnop, Gabriela Nicolino, Larissa Juk (21)
CANADA - Sharon Ferris-Choat, Caroline Kaars Sijpesteijn , Joanne Prokop (36)
CHINA - Ru Wang, Li Xiaoni, Pan Ting Ting (32)
DENMARK - Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen, Susanne Boidin, Tina Schmidt Gramkov (30)
FINLAND - Silja Lehtinen, Mikaela Wulff, Silja Kanerva (9)
GERMANY - Silke Hahlbrock, Anke Lukosch, Maren Hahlbrock (20)
SLOVENIA - Vesna Dekleva Paoli, Katarina Kersevan, Lena Koter (24)
SPAIN - Tamara Echegoyen, Angela Pumariega, Sofía Toro (8)
The race format will be a single round robin (everyone races each other once), cutting the 9 to 6. After the cut, there will be a double round robin (skippers race each other twice), to narrow the field to the final 4. The final 4 will then race in a knock-out series to determine the final four places, the 3 countries who will qualify, and the first alternate.
The qualifier promises to deliver spectacular racing. Most of the teams have just come off 7 days of racing in the Rolex Miami OCR, so they will be at the top of their game and familiar with the boats and the waters.
Sail Sheboygan Newsletter - December 28, 2011
Happy Holidays! During this season of thanksgiving and sharing, we want to express how much we appreciate all of your efforts, contributions, support and enthusiasm towards the Simply Excellent Sailing for which Sail Sheboygan has come to be known here and around the world. We are also sharing this newsletter with those that may have an interest in Sail Sheboygan. Read more...
WMR International Qualifying Regatta - Florida, USA
Hosted by Key Biscayne Yacht Club (KBYC), Florida, USA from February 1-5 2012, the ISAF Grade 2 regatta will be the final chance for the Women's Match Racing teams to qualify their country for the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition.
Click here for additional information and to request invitation.
Tune in to ESPN Classic on November 4!!!
Don't miss the following ESPN shows this weekend:
Championship Sailing: The Best of One Design Racing
Airdate: November 4 at 7:00pm ET on ESPN Classic
This one hour program focuses on one design racing. This production includes each of the ten Olympic Classes and interviews with many of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and several world champions. The program includes a feature on the history of one design racing in the early 1900s. All the equipment is identical in one design sailing. It is the skill of the sailor that makes the difference.
2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup
Airdate: November 4 at 8:00pm ET on ESPN Classic
Reair: November 6 at 2:30pm ET on ESPN2
The New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup features 22 ten person teams from 16 countries in the second running of this competition. The racing takes place in identically matched Swan Club 42s. All competitors are amateur sailors, who must be members of the yacht club they represent. Eleven highly contested races were sailed over a five day period, off Newport, RI. This program was shot in Hi Definition aboard the race boats, from a helicopter and from the water.
Racing for an Ocean Record
Airdate: November 4, 2011 at 9:00pm ET on ESPN Classic
Racing long distances on the ocean is challenging because the weather ranges from powerful storms to dead calms. During the summer of 2011, 70 boats raced 473 miles from Annapolis, MD to Newport, RI. ESPN had cameras aboard four of the competing yachts including the overall race winner, Beau Geste plus Aurora, Flying Jenny VII and Dragon.
One month later, 90 boats competed in a 363 mile race from Marblehead, MA to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Three of the boats set course records. ESPN had camera crews aboard three boats including the overall winner Valkyrie, plus Aurora and Oakcliff Racing.
Racing at U.S. Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta – Final Oct. 30
Key Biscayne, Fla. (October 30, 2011)
In a dramatic conclusion to five days of racing, Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and her Team Maclaren crew Molly Vandemoer (Stanford, Calif.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) won the 2011 U.S. Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta over Genny Tulloch (Sausalito, Calif.) and her Team GetSailing Alice Manard Leonard (East Haven, Conn.) and Jenn Chamberlin (Washington, D.C.). Tunnicliffe defeated Tulloch in two straight matches on Biscayne Bay.
With this win, Tunnicliffe secures the berth to represent the USA at the 2011 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Combined World Championships, Dec. 3-18, in Perth, Australia. The team will soon travel to Australia to begin training.
Tunnicliffe was up two wins over Tulloch coming into the day's matches after coming back to win the semi-final round.
“I'm really proud of my team,” said Tunnicliffe. “We came back and we've really gelled together as a team. We put a lot of time in on the water and depended on that. We took one race at a time. Training paid of in that when you see a situation at a regatta you know what to do. The more time you spend in the boat is going to help you.
Tulloch's team spent that past season sitting out the ISAF Sailing World Cup events as they were the third-place team at the U.S. Qualifier regatta in early 2011. With this second-place finish, they will have the second USA berth at World Cup events when the U.S. is given one.
“We're totally happy,” said Tulloch. “We didn't need to win this regatta. There's not a lot of difference between first and second. We didn't know until yesterday that we had a spring schedule and now we do.”
The day started with a passing storm squall resulting in 18-22 knots of wind for racing. Conditions on the race course made for a thrilling final flight of matches.
First up was the final match of the semi-finals to determine third and fourth place between Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) and Stephanie Roble (Chicago, Ill.). Barkow came into today with one win on her score card in the “first-to-two-wins” round and went at Roble, quickly winning the match to seal third place.
Barkow sails with Elizabeth Kratzig Burnham (Miami, Fla.) and Alana O'Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) as Team 7 Match Race, while Roble, Maggie Shea (Chicago, Ill.) and Darby Smith (Chicago, Ill.) represent Chicago Match Racing Center.
Racing was run by the Key Biscayne Yacht Club Race Committee and organized in collaboration with US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee. Sail Sheboygan supplied the Elliott 6m Olympic class boats as well as on-the-water assistance.
As the top four skippers at this event, Tulloch, Barkow, Tunnicliffe and Roble advanced to the second, and final, selection event for the 2012 Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta, scheduled for May 4-7, 2012 at the Olympic sailing venue.vThe winner of that event will represent USA at the 2012 Olympic Games. The Olympic Regatta will be held July 27 – August 12, 2012, in the towns of Weymouth and Portland, which are located on the southern coast of England, approximately 120 miles southwest of London.
Bring the most competitive and highest quality sailing in the world to the shores of Lake Michigan. Sail Sheboygan is dedicated to promoting world class and community sailing, but we need your help.
Your tax-deductible donation, in any amount, will help support these programs and help make the Sail Sheboygan a world class, center of excellence in the sport of sailing.
Sail Sheboygan, LTD is a designated US SAILING Center.
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