Team Bermuda Set For IC37 Championship
A team including several Bermudian sailors is set to compete at the IC37 Women’s International Championship at the New York Yacht Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
Representing Team Bermuda are local sailors Carolina Cooper, Ellie Crumpsty, Julia Lines, Megham Sherwin, Ellie Wollmann and helmswoman Katrina Williams.
Also serving as crew are United States sailors Kate O’Donnell and Leah Sweet, while Isabella Casaretto is the tactician.
Katrina Williams, the helmswoman, said the team is proud to represent the island and hopes their participation will help create more opportunities for women in sailing.
“At our core, we are an island team,” she said. “Six of us are islanders – five from Bermuda and one from the Azores – joined by a British sailor who now calls Bermuda home and three American team-mates.
“We each bring something different to the boat, with collective experience across collegiate, international, offshore, keelboat, dinghy, and high-level one-design racing.
“Members of our team have represented their countries, islands, and yacht clubs at premier regattas around the world, and we’re excited for the opportunity to bring those experiences together while learning from our competition, coaches, and one another.”
Williams added: “For many women in sailing, the structured pathway to compete becomes much narrower after college unless you pursue an Olympic or professional campaign.
“Opportunities for amateur women to access this level of competition, development, and professional coaching are incredibly rare.
“We want to help show that there can be another pathway – one that allows women to remain competitive and engaged in the sport throughout their lives.
“Our goal extends beyond our own team and this championship.
“We want to use the experience, knowledge, and connections we gain to help create access to competitive opportunities for more women at the local, national, and international levels.
“By showing up and competing, we hope we can help make that pathway a little wider for the women who come next.
“We are incredibly proud to compete under the “Team Bermuda banner. For us, this is about more than one week of racing – it is about pushing ourselves on the water while helping build a future where more women have the opportunity to stay in the sport and compete at whatever level they aspire to.”
