2026 AWMRC | THE TEAMS
Meet the six teams competing for the 2026 Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship.
Chelsea Williams
Team Blue
Chelsea Williams will represent the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) and its Youth Sailing Academy at this year’s Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships. One of two CYCA teams making the trip west, Chelsea arrives in Fremantle with an impressive depth of match racing experience both as a skipper and crew.
Chelsea is a World Sailing Youth Match Racing World Champion, having been part of the Australian team that claimed the 2024 title on the Red Sea. Since progressing through CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy, she has competed extensively on the Australian and international match racing circuit, both at the helm and as part of some of CYCA’s most successful youth teams. In 2025, Chelsea stepped back into the skipper role to win the John Messenger Women’s Match Racing Regatta, going undefeated through the opening round robin before taking out a closely fought finals series.
Chelsea also knows the waters out west, having competed in the Warren Jones International Youth Match Racing Regatta, and returns to Fremantle with plenty of experience racing against many of the sailors she will meet at this year’s championship.
Joining Chelsea on Team Blue are Maddy McLeay, Paige Caldecott, Clare Cini and Ali Braden. With a World Championship title behind her and a strong CYCA combination alongside her, Chelsea will be looking to make her mark when Team Blue takes to the water in Fremantle.
Heidi Ferguson
Team Yellow
Heidi Ferguson will lead the second of two Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) teams heading west for this year’s Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships. A product of CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy, Heidi returns to Fremantle after an impressive podium finish at last year’s championship.
Heidi came into the 2025 event as one of the highest-ranked match racers in the fleet and showed why, finishing the three round robins with nine wins before progressing to the semi-finals. After facing eventual champion Nia Jerwood in the semis, Heidi bounced back strongly in the petit final, defeating Kirstin Norris 2–0 to secure third place overall.
This year Heidi returns with plenty of familiarity around her. Charlotte Toll, Kelly Su and Isabella Armistead were all part of her podium-finishing team in Fremantle last year, while Lucia Urgel joins the combination for the 2026 campaign. That continuity gives Team Yellow a strong foundation as they look to build on last year’s result.
With a national championship podium already behind her and another year of match racing experience under her belt, Heidi will be looking to take the next step when she leads Team Yellow back onto the water in Fremantle.
Isabella Holdsworth
Isabella Holdsworth
Belle and her team hail from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) Youth Development Program on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. The RPAYC team is thrilled to be competing in Fremantle for this year’s Women’s Match Racing National Championships.
Skipper Belle has sailed in Perth on multiple occasions competing in the 2025 and 2026 Warren Jones International Youth Match Racing Regatta while crewing for fellow RPAYC skipper Daniel Kemp. Belle is excited to return to Western Australia and experience a new venue in Fremantle after previously racing on the Swan River.
Fresh off a runner-up finish crewing for the Australian team at the World Sailing Youth Match Racing World Championships in Denmark alongside crew member Hayley Fisher, Belle is proud to represent the RPAYC Youth Development Program and women’s sailing when the team takes to the water in Fremantle in a few weeks’ time. The team brings together talented young sailors from the RPAYC Youth Development Program, including Annabelle Sampson, Victoria Lin, Isabella Primrose and Hayley Fisher.
Kirstin Norris
Kirstin Norris
Kirstin is no stranger to the championship, having skippered the SoPYC team to fourth place at the 2025 Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships in Fremantle. She followed that performance with another strong result at the 2025 JESS Match Cup, steering her team through to the final and a runner-up finish. With another year of racing behind her, Kirstin returns to Fremantle looking to build on those results and challenge for the national title.
Joining Kirstin are Sonja Vlaar, Annika Pennifold and Mara Lowry, the same combination that raced together at the JESS Match Cup. Their time on the water together gives the SoPYC crew an established team dynamic heading into the championship. Annika also brings an impressive multihull background, including finishing as the top female team at the 2026 Formula 18 World Championship.
With an established crew, strong recent results and plenty of local knowledge, Kirstin is looking forward to leading SoPYC back to Fremantle and taking another step towards the Australian title.
Mia Lovelady
Miami Race Team
Mia Lovelady and her Miami Race Team will represent Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) at this year’s Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships. The young Perth team brings plenty of match racing experience to Fremantle, with Mia establishing herself as a regular skipper on the Australian youth match racing circuit.
Mia has spent the past several years developing her match racing credentials, including three campaigns at the prestigious Warren Jones International Youth Match Racing Regatta. In 2025, she led Miami Race Team through to the Warren Jones quarter-finals before finishing fifth at the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships in Fremantle. She followed that with third place at the 2025 JESS Match Cup and also travelled to Sydney to compete against a strong Australian and New Zealand field at the Harken International Youth Match Racing Championship at RPAYC. More recently, Mia started 2026 with victory at the Sail Our Way Women’s Keelboat Regatta at East Fremantle Yacht Club.
Joining Mia aboard Miami Race Team for this year’s championship are Rosie Rowell, Ethany Bates, Klara Travlos and Greta Carroll, bringing together another talented combination.
With three Warren Jones campaigns and an increasingly impressive list of national and interstate match racing events behind her, Mia returns to Fremantle with considerably more experience under her belt and will be looking to build on last year’s fifth-place finish.
Sophie Jackson
Team RAMP
Sophie Jackson and her team will represent host club Fremantle Sailing Club (FSC) and its Women’s Racing and Mentorship Program (RAMP) at this year’s Australian Women’s Match Racing Championships. The home team heads into the event as defending champions, with four members of the 2025 winning combination returning to the water in Fremantle.
This year Sophie steps into the skipper role after being part of FSC’s championship-winning team in 2025. An accomplished high-performance sailor, Sophie is currently campaigning internationally in the Olympic 470 class and brings experience from national and international competition to the helm. After helping claim the title as crew last year, she will now have the opportunity to lead the FSC team’s title defence on home waters.
Returning alongside Sophie are Georgia Payne, Caitlin Shaw and Ona Rafart, all members of the 2025 championship-winning team. They are joined by Fallon Katz, another talented 470 campaigner and Australian Sailing Futures athlete. Together, the team brings a strong mix of match racing experience, high-performance sailing and familiarity with Fremantle conditions.
Sophie is looking forward to taking the helm and representing FSC and RAMP as the team attempts to keep the Australian Women’s Match Racing Championship title in Fremantle for another year.