Leroy leads Bermuda match race field

A preview to October’s Cicada International Women’s Match Racing Championship

France's Claire Leroy, ranked no.2 women's match racer, sets the standard for this October’s Cicada International Women’s Match Racing Championship based on ISAF rankings.

She’ll be challenged by no.7 ranked Betsy Alison (USA), no8 ranked Jenny Axhede (SWE), local ACE match racer and defending Bermuda women’s match race champion Paula Lewin (BER), ranked 10, and Katie Spithill (AUS) ranked 11.

The event is turning out to be a rematch of the 2004 ISAF Women’s World Match Racing Championship. All of these ladies finished in the top ten at the June match sailed in Annapolis. Alison, five-time Yachtswomen of the year was second there, followed by Leroy and Lewin. Spithill came sixth, Axhede ninth. They all know each other, and the racing in the Cicada International Championship could go to any of these excellent teams. It all comes down to whichever team sails fast, smart and penalty free.
Three other skippers will fill the final slots. Klaartje Zuiderbaan (NED), ranked 23, returns for her second Bermuda Women’s Championship to fill the sixth slot. Kuko Sakudo-Horikawa from Japan, unranked in the July 28th ISAF and coming to Bermuda a relative newcomer to match racing as a skipper, has sailed in international events as a crew and comes in as the seventh skipper for this event. The last skipper to be added to the field is Giulia Conti of Italy, ranked 26 on the ISAF list.

The Cicada International Women’s Match Racing Championship 2004, scheduled for 16-19 October, 2004, is set in Hamilton Harbour just off the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. The harbour course is a perfect venue for shore-side spectators, with commentary provided by match race expert and voice of many America’s Cup competitions, Peter Montgomery.

Cicada will present the prizes on Tuesday 19 October, and the winner and runner up will be invited to participate in the Investors Guaranty presentation of The King Edward Vll Gold Cup Match Racing Tournament.

The first place skipper will be known as the 2004 Cicada International Women’s Match Racing Champion and will be presented with the 4th Cruiser Squadron Bowl. There will be cash prizes for first through fourth place finishers as follows: First prize $ 7,500.00; Second prize $ 3,750.00; Third prize $ 2,500.00; and Fourth prize $ 1,250.00.

The event will consist of two stages: The first stage is a Preliminary round robin. Stage two is a Semi Final and Final knock-out series decided by the first team to score 2 points. The Organizing Authority may change the format, terminate or eliminate any round, when conditions do not permit the completion of the intended format. Courses will consist of windward/leeward legs with starboard roundings and a downwind finish.

Cicada is a global provider of financial data management technology and business solutions, including managed services and outsourcing. The company provides data quality management and integration solutions to support risk management, regulatory compliance, trading and other mission-critical applications. In addition to data management and validation software, Cicada provides managed services including data cleansing, manual validation and exception-handling, hosting and account/counterparty data maintenance. Cicada also provides real-time market data management technology to exchanges, data vendors and financial institutions. Cicada is a member of the Investors Guaranty™ Global Alliance