The fourteenth edition of US Sailing’s 2011 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship will be held at the Rochester Yacht Club. The event celebrates the can-do spirit of the modern woman, who is not afraid to step into unchartered waters to prove her indomitable spirit.

Sailing competitions in America and in the rest of the world were not considered fit for women until 1985; when, US Sailing and Rolex joined hands to throw open the competition for women sailors. The new competition was christened as the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. Twenty five years hence the success of the tournament stands as a testament to the progress made by women over the years.

The Rolex Women’s-as it is fondly called-is a biennial event. It is known to attract some of the most talented sailors in women’s sailing.  The event would be held at the Rochester Yachting club and would utilize the J/22 class keelboat, with each boat suitable for four sailors.

Anna Tunnicliffe, current champion and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics member, was presented with the highest honor in US Sailing-The 2009 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year-for her achievement in 2009 when she won the 2009 Rolex IWKC.  Taran Teague, chairperson of US Sailing’s International Women’s Keelboat steering committee says that since its inception in 1985 many established female sailors have been associated with the tournament. According to estimates more than 2500 women have taken part in the competition at one point or the other.

Chris Dorsey who is at the helm of the organizing committee says that the members of the committee are pleased to have been given the opportunity to host the important event. Further, the mild weather conditions and the expert supervision of ISAF International Race Officer Hank Stuart will ensure the success of the event. He expected the tournament to feature a record number of entries as the holiday season would not have come to an end by then.

The Royal Yachting committee would be hosting the Hospice Regattas National Championship and the Melges 24 North Americans.  Dorsey believed that they would have plenty of opportunity to hone their skills even further in the intervening period and would be in a perfect position to host the Rolex IWKC championship in 2011.

The Regatta event provides female sailors with the opportunity to fine tune their skills by exposing them to high quality competition along with sailing workshops, mentoring programs-all geared to bring the best out of female sailors.

Rolex also provides skill development programs in the form of Road to Rolex Clinics, as well as mentoring to promising young golfers through the Next Step to Rolex program and the Junior Road to Rolex Clinic.

The 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship was expected to be a memorable one in the history of sailing and it did turn out to be exactly that though the reasons for that have been very far and varied. The first day of the championship had not made the right start to the regatta and the reason for that had been the weather which made it impossible for the fleet to set sail. Even more interesting part was the fact even on the race days that followed the weather kept playing hide and seek with the women sailors displaying amazing enthusiasm and spirit to keep waiting patiently for the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship to start effectively. Once the championship did make a start the races that were held and the efforts that women sailors put to compete and win ensured that whatever time was lost was completely up made for. One of the pre-championship stars and the eventual winner was Anna Tunnicliffe who not only defeated the fellow sailors but made the weather look like the real looser to win quite comfortably and through her win reiterated the philosophy of Rolex which focuses on promoting brilliance and unwavering human endurance.

There are two major motives behind the efforts the sailors are more than happy to put in with the Bengt Julin Trophy being one and the beautifully crafted and hugely popular Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel and Gold Datejust being the other. The event was held at the Rochester Yacht Club from the 7^th of October to 10^th though due to the weather the actual and effective regatta was cut short to lesser duration. Organized by US Sailing and Rochester Yacht Club, the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship boasts of having Rolex Watch USA, the legendary maker of the best in the world luxurious watches, as its title as well as main sponsor. The involvement of Rolex is further stressed and made more involved through the coveted Rolex watch the winner gets to flaunt on her wrist. The honors at 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship went to the Plantation, Florida based Anna Tunnicliffe who along with her crew out raced others and managed to live up to the expectations of everyone.

Anna Tunnicliffe was helped in her endeavor by her crew in winning the coveted 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, which is won in a style. Her team consisted of Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer who belongs to California and two New Yorkers in Liz Bower and Debbie Capozzi to make a very formidable team. Her potential, ability and performance can be gauged from the fact that when she finished her penultimate race at the 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship she had accumulated enough points to win the Bengt Julin Trophy with one race still left to be held. Her determination to not allow herself to be bogged down by the weather and her ability to turn the tables on weather through her audacity and dedication are the very virtues that Rolex tries to promote by associating itself with the 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship.

As the time for the much awaited Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is drawing to a close with only a day left the 35 teams which are going to compete against each other have finally gathered at the Lake Ontario, the place where over next couple of days they all will try their best to come out on top and become a proud Rolex winner. It has been a well recognized tradition of Rolex, the number one maker of luxurious watches in the world, to take steps in creating opportunities whereby human brilliance and endurance can be demonstrated and proved and the long relationship that Rolex has built with US Sailing is one of the best examples of that endeavor only. The fact that Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship has a distinct international flavor to it makes it a championship that every woman sailor looks up to as a challenge and a matter of pride to be a part of and the platform sponsored by Rolex makes participating and winning all so more enjoyable.

Beginning on the 7^th of October 2009 and concluding on the 10^th Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is celebrating its 13^th anniversary this year and in addition to the high level competition women sailors are going to have the time of their life at the Rolex gala as well as the award presentation ceremony which are eagerly looked forward to by the sailors as the regatta itself is. The high point of the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is definitely the Bengt Julin Trophy and the remarkable Rolex time piece which the skipper of the boat that will win will get to flaunt on her wrist.

The 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is going to be a memorable regatta in the history of the biennial regatta for as much as 35 teams would race side by side in multiple races in their efforts to outrace others and become a proud winner. The regatta is going to be organized by the Rochester Yacht Club (RYC) and would take place off the mouth of Genesee River right on the Lake Ontario. The racing spread over four days would be held under the leadership of Hank Stuart, the principal race officer and the RYC Race Committee.

The 35 teams which are going to participate in the 2009 Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship would be representing five different countries and 15 different states of USA. The countries which will have representation at the US Sailing’s regatta include Canada, Netherlands, Great Britain, South Africa and of course USA.

Rolex Watch USA has the honor of being the sponsor of the title which has added to the prestige of the tournament. This year’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship will have an interesting mix of youth and experience with the participants including high school sailors as well as one 80 year sailor. Once they all set sail on 7^th and by the time championship finishes on 10^th the role that Rolex tries to play would have got another boast and sailors would have got another chance to actually live their dreams.

For centuries the utter tranquility and the perpetual power of the vast ocean has allured mankind. Developing into a sporting event the discipline of sailing has caught on in a big way and draws numerous sailors from around the world.

The Swiss based premium watch manufacturer Rolex has made it a part of its long standing principal to support sailing and promote the ambitions of the exceptionally skilled men and women. The most rudimentary part of the philosophy that Rolex abides by is the support of a program that eventually allows individuals to come together in a collective pursuit of perfection and transform the human society altogether. Around the world a large number of sailing events are fuelled by the illustrious Rolex brand that consequently form a platform for the overall development and promotion of sailors. Rolex partners various organizations in creating world class sailing regattas as well as sailing programs that teach individuals the fine art of sailing. Sailing is probably the oldest program that Rolex has been persistently supporting for many decades now. As a part of its global sponsorship program Rolex partners and collaborates with various organizations like US Sailing, Canadian Yachting Association, Royal Malta Yacht Club and St. Thomas Yacht Club among others to create and bring forward many internationally acclaimed regattas that have become a proving ground for sailors everywhere.

Of the many sailing programs that Rolex sponsors the Next Step to Rolex Program for junior women sailors that are between the ages of 13 and 17, is probably one of the most promising. The primary objective of the Next Step to Rolex Program for junior women sailors is to aid the development of skilled women sailors so that they are completely ready to turn sailing into a profession. Launching this program in close collaboration with US Sailing an organization that Rolex has been involved with from 1985 onwards, the Next Step to Rolex Program for junior women sailors aims at developing the highest level of perfection in the sport of sailing. The Next Step to Rolex Program has come a long way from the time it was created in 1997 and over the years this program that acts as a complementary feature of the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship, has been an inspiration to several young men and women and assisted them in their growth as sailors. The only aspiration of the Next Step to Rolex clinic for junior women is to hone the skills of these young sailors so that one day they might be able to compete in the international regattas and claim the top honors. This program consists of two days of intensive training that acclimatizes the young women sailors in the finer nuances of international sailing. In order to better train these women, champion sailors that have astounding performances to their credit are chosen to train them. Anna Tunnicliffe U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist and US Sailing’s 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year is all set to be a part of this remarkable program. The Next Step to Rolex clinic for junior women sailors will be held at the Rochester Yacht Club from the 2^nd till the 4^th of October this year.

The applications for participating in the program are still open and will close by the 31^st of July. As the program comes closer thousands of more aspirants who desire to master the power of the winds and harness waves will make a bee line for this fantastic program pioneered by Rolex.

The journey of the emancipation of women has been as tumultuous as the ebbing tide and probably that’s why, more interesting. Rolex is proud to sponsor and promote sporting events like sailing for women and assisting them in developing their talent. The Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is the recognition of women sailors and their mastery over sailing. Maybe it is the unpredictability of the ocean waves and the momentary gusts of wind that draw the finest women sailors around to compete in what is now regarded as the crown jewel of women’s regatta. Sailing is a sport that Rolex has constantly supported and in view of promoting this sport to all people it has endeavored to go where none others have. A partnership that began many years ago in 1985 between Rolex and US Sailing has grown to become a top notch, premier event for women sailors everywhere. The Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship is a biennial tournament that attracts keelboat as well as offshore sailors who come together to battle it out and stake a claim over the coveted title. An array of activities and programs has been introduced to further augment the importance of sailing among women and improve the career opportunities of dedicated women sailors. Like the ‘Next Step to Rolex’ program that aims to improve the keelboat handling skills of girls between the ages of 13 and 17.
After the completion of the racing tournament a social gathering is held on the docks every evening, allowing sailors and their team mates to recuperate and unwind. The premier women’s regatta culminates into a grand traditional gala where winners are awarded a Rolex watch in recognition of their sailing skills.

The Rochester Yacht Club (RYC) will be organizing and hosting the social get-togethers at the docks for this year’s edition of the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship. The bid for Rochester Yacht Club a historic yacht club that was founded in 1877, to host the International Women’s Keelboat Championship was put forward by the Olympian Cory Sterl. The last major sailing tournament to be held at the esteemed Rochester Yacht Club was the J/22 World Championships that was held in 2002.This year the International Women’s Keelboat Championship will be held on the elusively pristine waters of Lake Ontario from the 7^th to the 10^th of October. This eminent regatta for women is about three months away; however the preparations for making this event into an absolutely flawless, world class event are already underway. The organizers have begun implementing the plans and the procedures that would make this competition as streamlined as possible. Skilled women sailors are polishing their skills and making improvements in tackling unforeseen circumstances, in a last minute effort to increase their chances of coming out on top. As the sailors and their teams ready themselves for this predominant event, crowds of reporters and sailing enthusiasts are brimming with anticipation, to discover the winner for this year’s International Women’s Keelboat Championship.

Rolex, the steadfast supporter of this premier women’s regatta readies itself, to deliver the most astounding and probably the most competitive International Women’s Keelboat Championship.