The 2026 U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship is headed to Detroit, with Bayview Yacht Club set to welcome 10 teams for four days of elite competition on September 24–27. Organized in partnership with US Sailing, the national championship promises intense racing on the Detroit River in Bayview’s fleet of Ultimate 20s.
The championship format features qualifying round robin racing followed by elimination rounds that build toward the semifinals and finals. Teams may sail with three or four crew members, with a maximum combined crew weight of 599 pounds. Ten skippers representing yacht clubs and sailing organizations from across the United States and Australia will compete for the title.
The event kicks off on Thursday, September 24 with a clinic, giving competitors a chance to work with coaches and get acquainted with the Ultimate 20s and the Detroit River venue before championship racing begins.
Two historic trophies in women’s sailing are on the line. The championship-winning team will receive the Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy, while the runner-up earns the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Memorial Trophy. The Allegra Knapp Mertz Trophy honors a four-time winner of the U.S. Women’s National Championship who also served for many years as chair of the Women’s Championship Committee.
The championship has deep roots in American sailing history. It traces its origins to the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, founded in 1974, which originally featured traditional one-design competition in singlehanded and doublehanded boats. A motion to transition the championship to match racing was approved in 2000, and the first U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship was held at Southern Yacht Club in 2002.
Bayview Yacht Club brings significant experience hosting this event. The club previously hosted the U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship in 2007, when the event was also sailed in Ultimate 20s, and again in 2019.
Allie Blecher, who won the 2019 championship at Bayview, returns to Detroit as part of the 2026 field. Blecher went on to claim the national championship again in 2022, 2023, and 2024, giving her four U.S. Women’s Match Racing Championship victories heading into this year’s event.
The defending national champions are Nicole Breault, Molly Vandemoer, McKenzie Wilson, and Hailey Thompson, who captured the 2025 championship at St. Francis Yacht Club. Thompson returns this year as a skipper representing San Francisco Yacht Club. The 2025 runner-up team consisted of Lindsey Baab, Kate Shiber, Elena VandenBerg, and Helen Lord.
The 2026 championship is listed by the Women’s International Match Racing Association as a World Sailing Grade 3 women’s match racing event, underscoring its significance on the international stage.
