An Irish Match Racing Association looks set to be introduced with the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) on January 23, 2024.
Match racing is gaining popularity in Ireland, with more and more people showing interest in the discipline, according to promoters.
The discipline of match racing is steadily gaining popularity in Ireland, with the National Yacht Club's Elliott 6m boats playing a pivotal role. These boats are regularly in use, providing sailors with the perfect platform to hone their skills and compete at the highest level.
The commitment to multiple series, including the Student Match Racing Event in April 2023 and the Dun Laoghaire Cup in October, reflects the interest in the discipline. These series’ play a pivotal role in developing match racing and have encouraged teams to seek competition elsewhere such as Adam Leddy and his team competing in Copenhagen in December and Andrew Smith and his UCD team competing in an RYA Winter Warmer Event early in 2023.
Some match racers have gone further afield such as Tom Higgins who in the past year has competed in the prestigious Governors Cup in California as well as the Match Racing Youth World Championships in Sydney, Australia.
Ruairi Finnegan from Waterford competing in the World Match Racing Tour Finals in China Photo: Ian Roman/WMRT
Ruairi Finnegan has been competing on the World Match Racing Tour for a number of years. Finnegan’s 2023 season has seen him compete in WMRT Events in Poland, Montenegro, Italy, America as well as the World Match Race Tour
Finals in China.
As we look ahead to an exciting year, the association has already laid out plans for the Match Racing Nationals and other Match Racing events, which will all be discussed at the AGM later this month.
The AGM is open to all however, those wishing to receive the Agenda and Proposed Constitution can fill in this form to receive them.
