Pauline Courtois and her team Match in Pink by Normandy Elite of Le Havre, France, won their fifth consecutive Women’s Match Racing World Championship. Twelve top all-women teams of match racers from seven countries around the world competed at Chicago Yacht Club, September 16-20, 2025. The breadth of nations represented, including New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands, is a testament to the worldwide appeal and success of women’s match racing.

Competing in CYC’s fleet of Tom 28 Maxes, the sailors experienced light winds for the first two days. At the end of the round-robin qualifying flights, the field of competitors for the quarterfinals included Courtois, with only one loss (to Anna Östling of Sweden) out of ten races; Östling’s WINGS Sailing; Lea Richter Vogelius’ WOW Team from the Royal Danish Yacht Club; Juliet Costanzo of Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club in Australia; Nicole Breault’s Vela Racing of St. Francis Yacht Club; Julia D’Amodio’s Shark Caviar Team from Cannes Jeunesse in France; Megan Thomson’s 2.0 Racing Team from New Zealand; and Julia Aartsen from Royal Netherlands Yacht Club.

Courtois defeated Thomson in the finals, with Vogelius defeating Costanzo to place third. CYC members supported the world-stage event by hosting racers in nearby homes and volunteering their own boats to take spectators out to the racecourse. In honor of the Club’s 150th Anniversary in 2025, Club 150 raises money for match racing by inviting people to donate $150 in return for a commemorative hat. To date, the initiative has raised nearly $10,000.

In addition to the World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship, match racing at CYC includes the US Match Racing Championship in June, the Advanced Women’s Clinegatta in July, the Chicago Grand Slam in August, the MCSA Match Racing Championship, and the US Match Racing Championship, both in October.

Visit the regatta website here.
Visit World Sailing’s account of the regatta here.