Women are all in on match racing

There may be no bigger cheerleader for match racing in the USA than Dave Perry. He is a masterful educator, and his clinics are legendary. While his rule knowledge is vital to combat competition, he loves match racing for the opportunity it presents.

Opportunity can be a hurdle in sailing, particularly for women, and match racing competition – just show up and sail – teaches skills that can be applied elsewhere. His encouragement appears to be working.

“This year, the most exciting growth has been in the number of women who are skippering match racing teams at all levels,” Perry observed. “Sienna Nichols from Southern California finished second in the extremely competitive international youth event, the Governor’s Cup. Lijia Xu (CHN) won the Butler Cup.

“There were ten teams at the recent U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship, which had a first-time winner in Vanessa Lahrkamp from the East Coast. There were a record-breaking four women skippers out of ten at the recent U.S. Match Racing Championship.

“And three US teams recently competed in the 2026 Women’s Match Racing World Championship on San Francisco Bay, where Nicole Breault’s team won the Silver Medal!”

For match racing information in the USA, click here.