Bermuda International Women's Match Racing Championship - Lewin Returns to Defend Title

HAMILTON, BERMUDA (September 16, 2003) – Bermuda’s most celebrated sailor, Paula Lewin, will return to Hamilton Harbour for the 2003 Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship, scheduled for October 18-21. Lewin, the reigning champion, will face the top female sailors from the U.S., Denmark and Sweden in match-racing competition for $15,000 in prize money. The winner and runner-up of the Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship will advance to Round One of the Investors Guaranty Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup (October 22-26), the second event of the Swedish Match Tour 2003/04, where they will compete for another $100,000 in prize money.

Lewin, ranked 17th in the world in match racing, will have her work cut out for her. She will compete head-to-head with the crew of current #1 world-ranked skipper Marie Bjorling of Sweden. Jenny Axhede, who usually crews for Bjorling, will take over the helm in Bjorling’s absence. Klaartje Zuiderbaan of the Netherlands, who is ranked #12 in the world, returns to competition, having placed third in last year’s event. American Betsy Alison, who is ranked #8 and a past world match racing champion, will make her debut in Bermuda with this event. Also returning from last year are Americans Deborah Willits of Houston, Texas (# 16), Elizabeth Kratzig of Corpus Christi, Texas (#25), Sandy Hayes of Scituate, Mass. (#21) and Sally Barkow of Nashotah, Wisc., who competed as an unseeded skipper in 2002.

"There will be an increase in the level of competition," said Lewin, who is an Olympic hopeful in the Yngling class, "especially with the skippers who are returning from last year. They are going to be more savvy with the weather and the boats. Our team will have about a week before everyone else arrives for the regatta to practice boathandling in the IODs. And we will prepare exactly the same way as with our Yngling campaign. Every night there is a debrief of the day’s racing, a rules discussion and a visualization session on our strategy."

Now in its second year of offering women sailors elite-level competition and a significant prize purse, the Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship has become known as one of the premier events on the international women’s match racing calendar. "Interest is up with competitors around the world," said Lewin. "It’s a high profile, well run event that every woman sailor wants to do."

Title sponsor is Investors Guarantyä . The event is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. Renaissance Reinsurance is the Presenting Sponsor. Primary Sponsors are Bacardi, Colorcraft, Continental Airlines, Coral Beach & Tennis Club, Horizons Resort, Oleander Cycles, Omega, The Waterloo House and Wedgwood.

For more information about the Bermuda International Women’s Match Racing Championship or the Investors Guaranty Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, contact the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club race office at +1-441-295-2214 or visit www.KingEdwardVIIGoldCup.com.

About Investors Guaranty™ www.investorsguaranty.com
The Investors Guaranty Global Alliance™ is comprised of over 60 companies in Europe, North America and Australasia dedicated to optimizing, integrating and marketing their core competencies. Alliance members outsource their non-strategic functions and implement global "best-practices" in compliance with standards promulgated by Investors Guaranty GmbH (Zurich). Alliance companies specialize in strategic investments, insurance and banking technologies, asset management and fund administration, legal and accounting systems, administrative and corporate management services, branding and media, and information technologies.
About the Swedish Match Tour www.swedishmatchtour.com
The Swedish Match Tour is comprised of nine of the world's leading professional sailing events and is proving to be the ultimate battleground of sailing. In addition to more than US$800,000 in individual event prize money, the Swedish Match Tour awards US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Swedish Match Tour, with the first-place skipper netting US$60,000.

In addition to a US$60,000 first prize, the winner of the Swedish Match Tour receives the official Swedish Match Tour Championship Trophy, 15" (30 cm) high with 22 carat gold gilding, produced by Swedish Match Tour sponsor Wedgwood. Additionally, Wedgwood supplies runner-up prizes for second and third places as well as commemorative plaques to each event organizer.

The Swedish Match Tour produces 155 hours of television coverage reaching more than 427 million households worldwide. Swedish Match Tour partners include Swedish Match, Octagon and the Match Race Association. Swedish Match Tour sponsors include Colorcraft, Musto, Selden Group and Wedgwood.

Information about the MOËT CUP and race results and updates during the event can be found by visiting the Golden Gate Yacht Club web site at www.ggyc.com.