Reinsurers Aspen have been announced as title sponsor for the Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta, which will take place alongside the 71st Bermuda Gold Cup from October 29 to November 3 in Hamilton Harbour.

The regatta will also host the final event of the 2024 Women’s World Match Racing Tour season, marking the first time the women’s world tour will be hosted in Bermuda since it was launched in 2022. The Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta will award a prize purse of $40,000, the highest prize on the women’s tour in 2024.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and World Match Racing is delighted that speciality insurer and reinsurer Aspen has come on board as the title sponsor as Bermuda host two world-class match racing events at the same time on the same racecourse: the Bermuda Gold Cup (for the King Edward VII Gold Cup) and this new all-female event.

“Equity and inclusivity lie at the heart of Aspen’s culture and the ability to support women in sport aligns well with that ethos” commented Mark Cloutier, executive chairman and group chief executive officer of Aspen.

“We are proud to sponsor the Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta that we hope will not only provide great competition on the water but will also create lasting camaraderie among the teams and be an inspiration to women across the globe.”

RBYC commodore Rebecca Roberts is delighted that the island will be playing host to the best sailors in the world once again.

“Royal Bermuda Yacht Club is incredibly proud to announce the upcoming Aspen Bermuda Women’s Match Racing Regatta, to run alongside the annual Bermuda Gold Cup.” Roberts said.

“This event will bring together some of the world’s best female sailors for an exciting competition, highlighting the growing prominence of women in sailing, and fostering both fierce competition and strong camaraderie.”

Leading independent offshore bank and trust company Butterfield Group joins the women’s event as a supporting sponsor, while Bermuda-based global reinsurance provider RenaissanceRe returns as long-term sponsor to the 71st Bermuda Gold Cup as well as for their 20th consecutive year as title sponsor of the RenaissanceRe Junior Gold Cup, an invitational event for Optimist sailors staged from October 29 to November 2.

Eight teams will compete in the Women’s Match Racing regatta, including the defending Women’s World Match Racing Tour champion WINGS, captained by Sweden’s Anna Ostling, who is ranked second in the world.

Three-times Women’s Match Racing World Champion Pauline Courtois, the world No 1, France will also be returning to Bermuda with her Match in Pink team from Normandy. Courtois is currently competing as a member of the French Orient Express Racing Team challenging for the Puig Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona and will head to Bermuda when the America’s Cup draws to a close in mid-October.

Courtois has an opportunity to clinch the 2024 Women’s Match Racing title in Bermuda, along with New Zealand’s Megan Thomson’s 2.0 Racing and Julia Aartsen’s Team Out of the Box from the Netherlands.

Completing the women’s skippers is Great Britain’s Sophie Otter, Australia’s Juliet Costanzo and Denmark’s Kristine Mauritzen and Lea Vogelius.

The line-up of skippers has also been confirmed for the Bermuda Gold Cup.

An historic and popular event with match racing sailors around the world eager to etch their name on the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the event has once again attracted an impressive roster of the world’s top open match racing sailors, including defending 2023 champion Johnie Berntsson, from Sweden, world No 1 Chris Poole from the USA and 2022 Match Racing World Champion Nick Egnot-Johnson from New Zealand.

Accepting the Youth invitation to the Bermuda Gold Cup is current Youth Match Racing world champion, 21yr old Cole Tapper from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney.

Tapper will also be arriving in Bermuda straight from Barcelona, Spain where he is currently skipper of Team Australia in the Youth America’s Cup.

Completing the line-up of ten teams is Switzerland’s Eric Monnin (Capvis Swiss Match Racing Team), Mati Sepp from Estonia, Gavin Brady (USA), Jeppe Borch (DEN) and Dave Hood from the USA. Representing Bermuda will be Kelsey Durham, who has competed in several pervious Gold Cup events.