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 Women's
Match Racing: No Guts, No Glory
They don't come for money; there isn't any purse. They don't come for the TV
coverage, because there isn't much of that either. So why do 32 women pay their
own way for four days of some of the most intense, exhausting racing? |
The entry list reads like a who's who of world class sailing - Olympians,
Whitbread 'Round the World Race and America's Cup veterans, and a Rolex
Yachtswomen of the Year to boot. This year's seventh annual event once again
attracted the big names to Annapolis, MD, May 14-18, 2000, where eight teams competed
for four days of double-elimination, round-robin races in a roller-coaster of
conditions.Winds were so fierce on the second day of the regatta, one skipper was swept overboard and racing was halted for the day. (She was quickly picked up by a chase boat and was wearing a life jacket, as were nearly all the women.) |
What's different about match racing? Instead of all boats racing together as
a fleet, start to finish, a match race is one-on-one. In the BotU.S. Santa
Maria Cup, teams of four women race on identical J-22 sloops. Two boats race at
a time and the races are intense, short and cut-throat, lasting only about 15
minutes each. All the boats are provided and teams change boats for every race."The races are won or lost on very small margins," said Betsy Alison of Newport, RI, who was this year's winner, competing in her fifth Santa Maria Cup. She should know about margins as she won the event in the final race against Paula Lewin of Bermuda - by half a boat length. |
"Match racing is different because it's very technical, very rules
oriented," Alison said. "You sail everyone twice so you have little
goals on your way to a big goal. You make mistakes and move on."Twice named Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, Alison has a heavy schedule of events but always comes to the Santa Maria Cup, where she placed second last year. In the U.S., there are only two other women's-only match racing events, one in Marblehead, MA, and one in St. Petersburg, FL. The BoatU.S. sponsored event in Annapolis was the first. |
"The top sailors come back year after year to duke it out with their
fiercest competitors," said Karen Moran, chairwoman of the event in 1995
and now manager of the BoatU.S. Cooperating Marina program. "These are
women who can go to any major event they want, anywhere in the world. But they
pay their own way to get here just for the thrill of the competition. It's the
purest form of racing, where it comes down to brains and skill. It's not about
who has the most money or the fanciest boat."That sentiment was heard over and over by teams this year in Annapolis, including Dawn Riley, who was in a lead position for much of the regatta and ended up in third place. She was beaten by Alison in the semi-final where the two women traded leads throughout their two races. The Santa Maria Cup is the only match race Riley enters. |
"I had to make time from the America's Cup," Riley said, "I
was in the first (Santa Maria Cup) way back when it was held in Baltimore. It's
so far above any other regatta, it really has set the pace for all others."Riley currently divides her time between San Francisco and New Zealand and is heading up a co-ed U.S. challenge, America True, for the next America's Cup race in 2000. She sailed with the all-women's syndicate, America3, in the last Cup regatta in 1995 and has twice raced around the globe in the most severe conditions in the Whitbread Race. |
Riley did not come to Annapolis to earn points, as many of the women on the
racing circuit do in order to qualify to enter other races. She came for the
challenge. "Match racing is special. There are so many ways to look stupid
out there. You will make mistakes," she said prior to the regatta's start.
"It's more intense than any Whitbread. In three days, it's actually more
mentally draining than the America's Cup."On-the-water umpiring gives the teams immediate rulings on fouls. While many may liken watching a sailboat race to watching grass grow, a blustery day at the Santa Maria Cup had observers spellbound as team after team started and finished, circling one another for position, "slam-dunking" their opponents in tacking duels, hiking out to avoid broaching and otherwise pulling out all the stops. |
"Match racing is really about getting into trouble. Rules are critical
and you manipulate them to gain an advantage," said Sandy Grosvenor, whose
team made up of Annapolis sailors tied for fifth place. As Grosvenor summed it
up: "You're either first or last."With the unprecedented growth in women's sports - both in participation and stature - women's sailing opportunities are likewise on the increase. The playing field was forever leveled by America3, the first-ever women's team to compete in the America's Cup and they surprised everyone by coming within one race of beating Cup legend Dennis Conner. Once that men's only "club" was gate-crashed, nothing in racing would stay the same. Dawn Riley was A3 team captain. |
With women making up 45% of sailors and 42% of powerboaters, according to the
Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, women racers got a huge confidence
boost from the '95 America's Cup. Says Riley, "It gave legitimacy to all
the other people who are out there doing it."For women to successfully compete at the world level, match racing experience is critical. Getting a circuit established is one of the goals of the International Women's Match Racing Association. A push is also afoot to get match racing sanctioned as a future Olympic event. It won't happen for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but perhaps in 2004. |
The big sponsorships and prize money in sailing is focused on match racing,
with the America's Cup being the most famous example. "Women need more
opportunities to practice and learn how to drive those big boats," said
Carrie Capuco, chair of this year's BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup and a J-24 racer.Hosted by the Eastport (MD) Yacht Club, the racing venue is usually the Severn River near Annapolis Harbor. The race course was moved farther out towards the Chesapeake Bay this year due to fluky winds. The name "Santa Maria" came as a spin-off of the Columbus Cup men's match racing regatta held each year in Baltimore. (Nina, Pinta, get it?) BoatU.S. stepped in as the sponsor five years ago and widespread press coverage and additional sponsors have made it an event well worth winning. By Elaine Dickinson (c) July 1997 BoatU.S. Magazine |