The Ficker Cup Leads Into Long Beach Yacht Club’s Congressional Cup
Sailing offers an immense array of participation options, with the one-on-one match-racing format being one of the most unique and challenging. The pinnacle of match racing has been the America’s Cup, but Long Beach Yacht Club’s (LBYC) Congressional Cup remains one of the most coveted prizes in match racing. The Congressional Cup is coming in April, preceded by the Ficker Cup, with both attracting a strong field of world-class match-racing competitors. Many America’s Cup skippers have also been Congressional Cup skippers and winners. Past Congressional Cup winners include Dennis Connor, Bill Ficker, Gerry Driscoll, Rod Davis, Dean Barker, Taylor Canfield and many more.
The Ficker Cup was introduced in 1980 to honor Bill Ficker, a legendary yachtsman, Star Class world champion, and America’s Cup and Congressional Cup victor. This year, the three leading finishers in the Ficker Cup will qualify for an invitation to the Congressional Cup, where they will face off against nine other top-ranked match-racing skippers in five days of fiery competition.
Long Beach YC selected a field of eight skippers culled from the top male, female and youth skippers from around the globe to compete for the Ficker Cup. The competitors are Rocco Attili (ITA), Aurélien Pierroz (FRA), Megan Thomson (NZL), St. Francis Yacht Club member Nicole Breault (USA), Cole Tapper (AUS), Peter Wickwire (CAN), Long Beach Yacht Club’s Dave Hood (USA) and Scott Dickson (USA).
2024 Ficker Cup Regatta Chair Steve Meyer commented, “Thomson took second in the 2023 Ficker Cup and made her Congressional Cup debut last year, followed by a stunning third-place finish in the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) Finals in December. Breault earned her Ficker Cup berth by winning the 2023 California Dreamin’ Series, and is a three-time Ficker Cup veteran. Hood qualified for Ficker Cup with a victory in the 2023 Butler Cup, and already has an invitation to the Congressional Cup. His credentials are just as impressive off the water as on; he is a senior staff commodore at LBYC. And Dickson, although he hasn’t been active on the match-racing circuit in recent years, has won more Ficker Cup trophies than any other skipper in history. You will see some of the best sailing talent once again coming to Long Beach, California, for our renowned match-racing events!”
Between the Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup events, 13 of the world’s top 20 match-racing skippers will be onsite at LBYC this April. This profusion of sailing talent promises excitement for participants and spectators alike, as the teams compete in the thrilling game of match racing held directly off Long Beach’s Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.
Ficker Cup racing begins Friday, April 19, and continues through Sunday, April 21, with matches from noon until 5 p.m. daily. The Congressional Cup follows shortly after, with racing April 24 to 28.
For more information go to https://thecongressionalcup.com/ficker-cup. For details on the World Match Racing Tour visit https://wmrt.com.
Learn more about Nicole Breault and match racing when you tune in to Episode #80 of our Good Jibes Sailing Podcast.