Dominant win for Dickson at 15th Ficker Cup

Long Beach Yacht Club’s Scotty Dickson delivered a standout performance from start to finish to win a record-setting 15th Ficker Cup yesterday in Long Beach, concluding three days of intense international match racing on the Congressional Cup Stadium Course.

Dickson set the tone early, leading after the opening day with a 6–1 record before finishing the double round robin stage at 11–3 to secure first place heading into Sunday’s knockout rounds. Building on that momentum, Dickson and his Dickson Racing Team, supported by KZ Companies, delivered a 3–0 semi-final victory over Sweden’s Theo Westerlind before closing out the regatta with another decisive 3–0 win against Oscar Engström (SWE) in the final.

Engström advanced to the final after defeating Christopher Weis (USA) in their semi-final match-up, finishing second overall, while Weis secured third place with a 2–0 win over Westerlind in the petit final.

With their top-two finishes, both Dickson and Engström gained coveted invitations, from Chairman Ken Mattfeld, to compete in the Long Beach Yacht Club’s 61st Congressional Cup, the World Match Racing Tour Championship event hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club later this week.

The Ficker Cup was presented to Dickson and his crew by Deon McDonald, the daughter of Bill Ficker, the event’s namesake.

Tom Camp, Chairman of the Congressional Cup, said: “We are incredibly proud to have one of our own not only qualify, but dominate the Ficker Cup and earn his place in the Congressional Cup. It is something truly special. His performance this week was exceptional, and it reflects the standard of excellence this event, and this club, have represented for decades. He will be a strong contender as he lines up against the world’s best in our flagship event.”

The three-day regatta featured a deep international field and highly competitive racing throughout. After a tightly contested second day, Dickson, Weis, Engström, and Westerlind advanced to the semi-finals, with the final berth decided in the last match of the day when Engström narrowly defeated Nicole Breault (USA) to avoid a multi-way tie.

Steady winds in excess of 20 kts swept through the Congressional Cup Stadium course on the last day of the Ficker Cup. Crews pushed the limits of Long Beach Yacht Club’s fleet of identical Catalina 37s, shifting down from genoas to jibs early in racing and ultimately putting away spinnakers as conditions continued to build. Despite the unusually strong breeze and shifty winds for Belmont Shore, LBYC’s new mark-set bots performed flawlessly.

The viewing area at the end of the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier overlooking the racecourse was filled with a crowd of match race fans. All three days of Ficker racing were also live streamed throughout the world with commentary from Ryan Sanders and guests.

The Ficker Cup is a Grade 2 event on the World Match Racing Tour, sailed on Long Beach Yacht Club’s iconic fleet of identical Catalina 37s. Established in 1980, the Ficker Cup honors legendary yachtsman Bill Ficker, who helmed Intrepid to victory in the 1970 America’s Cup and later won the 1974 Congressional Cup. The iconic phrase “Ficker is Quicker remains one of the most iconic expressions in match racing history and continues to reflect the precision and competitive spirit of the event today.

The Ficker Cup serves as the final qualifier for the Congressional Cup, widely recognized as the “granddaddy” of modern world-class match racing, the premier and longest-running event of its kind in North America.

The 61st Congressional Cup begins April 29 and runs through May 3, 2026 (preceded by practice on April 28), featuring the world’s top match racing skippers competing off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Long Beach, California.