The Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy, or Adams Cup for short, was the competition for the United States Women's Sailing Championship. The donor of the award was Francis Lovering Adams the wife of Charles Francis Adams III, former Secretary to the Navy and skipper of the 1920 America's Cup winner Resolute. It had its origins in the 1924 Hodder Cup. The Adams Cup was raced annually until 2011. Now retired, the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy is on display in the Reading Room of the Tom Morris Library at the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
History
Ruth Sears was the first winner of the cup followed by Lorna Whittelsley. In 1933, the competition gave birth to the Women's National Yacht Racing Association. That organization was later headed by Adams Cup winner "Leggie" Mertz.
In a sport with hundreds of different classes of boats and a national champion for each, the point of the Adams Cup was to determine an overall champion for the sport of women's sailing in the United States. First run by the Women's National Yacht Racing Association, and later organized by the U.S. Sailing Association, eliminations were held throughout the country, and the finals were raced in a different type of boat each year to eliminate any advantage a sailor from any particular class might otherwise have. Competitors sailed boats provided by the host club, and teams were required to race each boat at the event once so that nobody would have an advantage in terms of equipment, similar to high school and collegiate sailing.
As with national championships in other sports, the top three finishers received gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively. The winner likewise held the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup itself until the following year's champion was crowned.
Sailors from Cohasset Yacht Club won the prize first and the most number of time (9) followed by American Yacht Club who won it eight times.
Legacy Today, the United States Adult Sailing Championship, is open to both men and women but people still remember the Adams Cup. In 2016, Gary Jobson, then President of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, commented on the important history of the cup, “The Adams Cup inspired generations of women to participate and excel in the sport of sailboat racing. Collecting and preserving this legacy will keep that history alive.”
Adams Cup Champions List of champions:
Year Club Team 2011 Buccaneer Yacht Club Amy Kleinschrodt, Sara Hall, Kara Kimbrell 2010 Wawasee Yacht Club Debbie Probst, Joyce Spring, Monica Jones 2009 Buccaneer Yacht Club Amy Kleinschrodt, Sara Hall, Ashley Hall 2008 San Francisco Yacht Club Vicki Sodaro, Stephanie Wondolleck, Emily French, Katie Maxim 2007 Chicago Yacht Club Betsy Altman, Nancy Heffernan, Vickie Matthews, Marie Hansson 2006 San Francisco Yacht Club Vicki Sodaro Stephanie Wondolleck Karina Vogen Shelton Emily French 2005 Deep Creek Yacht Club Joni Palmer, Meredith Dodd, Carrie Carpenter 2004 Rush Creek Yacht Club Kathy Irwin, Kerri Cunningham, Nataleigh Vann, Wendy Vann 2003 Deep Creek Yacht Club Joni Palmer, Meredith Dodd, and Carrie Carpenter 2002 San Francisco Yacht Club Vicki Sodaro, Stephanie Wondolleck, Pamela Healy, Jodi Lee Drewery 2001 CancelledPatriots Cup Chandler's Landing Yacht Club Barbara Hawn, Linda McDavitt, Cynthia Beorner, Carolyn Wilsford 2000 San Diego Yacht Club Mary Brigden-Snow, Julie Mitchell, Pam Gregory, Stacey Szabo 1999 Palisades, NY Joan Hurban, Judy Hanlon, Cindy Cox 1998 Oakland, CA Stephanie Wondolleck - San Rafael, Vicki Sodaro - Tiburon, Karina Vogen 1997 Mobile, AL Amy Kleinschrodt, Jackie Gorski, Sara Hall 1996 Boston Sailing Center Elaine Parshall, Sally Lane, Mary Coch, Colleen Crawley 1995 Eastern Yacht Club Dru Slattery, Martha Quigley Dillon, Linda Epstein, Ellie Schnabel 1994 Ida Lewis Yacht Club Becky Wilson, Lisa Merrifield, Trice Kilroy, Alix Barton 1993 Manhasset Bay Yacht Club Beth Danilek, Sue Miller, Janet Grapengeter, Nancy Pearson 1992 Buffalo Canoe Club Jody Swanson, Cory Sertl, Abby Ruhlman 1991 Newport Yacht Club Betsy Alison, Betsy McClintock, Marshall Lawson 1990 Newport Yacht Club Betsy Alison, Kristan McClintock, Liz Merrifield, Nancy Hood 1989 Buffalo Canoe Club Jody Swanson, Jill Swanson, Kathryn Ritchie 1988 Seattle Yacht Club Carol Buchan, Cheryl Lanzinger, Libby Johnson, Jean Trucano 1987 Seattle Yacht Club Carol Buchan, Cheryl Lanzinger, Libby Johnson, Jean Trucano 1986 South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association Cathy Chrisman, Ann Boyd, Carolyn Griffith, Janet Scarborough 1985 Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association Cory Fisher, Dina Horwitz, Ramsey Murray, Joan Watts 1984 Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association Betsy Gelenitis, Ellen Reago, Linda Toboada, Patti Jeske 1983 Vermilion Boat Club Heidi Backus, Gretchen B. Loper, Amy B. Riddle, Susan B. Potter 1982 Vermilion Boat Club Heidi Backus, Gretchen B. Loper, Amy B. Riddle 1981 Charleston Yacht Club Ann Boyd Sloger, Carolyn Simmons, Cathy Chrisman, Janet Scarborough 1980 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club Judy McKinney, Charlotte Gordon, Amy Chapman 1979 St. Petersburg Yacht Club Allison Jolly, Susan Blaketer, Janice Robertson, Sue Reischmann 1978 Ida Lewis Yacht Club Bonnie Shore, Yvonne Burns, Bea Grimmitt, Nancy Kaull 1977 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club Cindy Stieffel, Amy Chapman, Judy McKinney 1976 Galveston Bay, CA Ellen Gerloff, Ruthie Maudlin, Jane Baldridge, Rita Matthews 1975 Pettipaug Yacht Club Cindy S. Batchelor, Nan Hull, Carmen Wetmore, Cara Worthington 1974 Beachwood Yacht Club Deborah Freeman, Lynn Campbell, Jennifer Valdes 1973 Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Timothea Larr, Sheila McCurdy, Beegie Miller 1972 Dinghy Club Sally Lindsay, Alix Smullin, Nancy Hearne 1971 Duxbury Yacht Club Sylvia Shethar Everdell, Pamela O'Day, Mrs. Horace Sawyer, Jr., Daphne Fogg 1970 Mantoloking Yacht Club Jan O'Malley, Patricia O'Malley, Connie Blaise 1969 Mantoloking Yacht Club Jan O'Malley, Patricia O'Malley, Jacqueline Hart 1968 Monmouth Boat Club June Methot, Bette Power, Dede Heron 1967 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Mrs. W.H. Foulk, Jr., Mrs. Albert G. Preston, Jr., Mrs. A. Whittemore, Sue Ann Shay 1966 Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle Jerie Clark, Mary Anne Easter, Renate McVitti 1965 Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Timothea Larr, Sarah Glenn Meyer, Patience Outerbridge 1964 Lake Geneva Yacht Club Jane Pegel, Marnie Frank, Nancy Frank 1963 American Yacht Club Allegra Knapp Mertz, Lois Shethar Smith, Betty Duncan, Lucia Elmore 1962 Noroton Yacht Club Susan W. Sinclair, Alexandra W. Falconer, Carolyn McCurdy 1961 Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Timothea Larr, Sarah Glenn Meyer, Deborah Smith Read 1960 Delray Beach (FL) Yacht Club Pat Duane, Nancie Pearce, Rose Marie Altemus 1959 American Yacht Club Allegra Knapp Mertz, Roseamund Corwin, Betty Duncan, Cindy Matthews 1958 American Yacht Club Nancy Underhill, Roseamund Corwin, Gwendolyn Everett 1957 Chicago Yacht Club Jane Pegel, Michael Sennot Roche, Judy Gale Nye 1956 Fort Worth Boat Club Glenn Hill Lattimore, Diane McFarland, Rose Rector, Jane Mooney 1955 Manhasset Bay Yacht Club Toni Monetti, Chris Drake, Frances Macy, Jill Thompson 1954 American Yacht Club Allegra Knapp Mertz, Beverly Compton, Ellen Kelly 1953 Riverside Yacht Club Judy Webb, Barbara Sheldon, Sandra Gill, Jill Avers 1952 Manhasset Bay Yacht Club Pat Hinman, Toni Monetti, Gwen Van Hagen, Mrs. George R. Hinman 1951 Seal Harbor Yacht Club Jane Smith, Molly Shaw, Polly Hessenbrunch, Anne Rockefeller 1950 American Yacht Club Allegra Knapp Mertz, Roseamund Corwin, Carol Walter, Beverly Compton 1949 Portland Yacht Club Jane McL. Smith, Jane Hughes, Dana Smith, Martha Soule 1948 Larchmont Yacht Club Aileen Bryan, Grace Emmons, Margot Gotte, JoAnne Sandborn 1947 American Yacht Club Syvia Shethar Everdell, Roseamund Corwin, Lois Shethar, Allegra Knapp Mertz 1946 Edgartown Yacht Club Virginia Weston Besse, Adelaide Wolstanholme, Honora Haynes, Mary Edmonds 1941 Riverside Yacht Club Lois McIntyre, Mrs. Frederick T. Allen, Charlotte Mayer, Mrs. Carlton Marsh 1940 American Yacht Club Sylvia Shethar, Roseamund Corwin, Elizabeth Richards 1939 American Yacht Club Sylvia Shethar, Gwendolyn Shethar, Roseamund Corwin, Elizabeth Richards 1938 Cohasset Yacht Club Francis McElwain, Katherin Johnson Fisher, Joan Chapin Waters, Barbara Benson 1937 Cohasset Yacht Club Francis McElwain, Katherine Johnson, Francis Williams, Joan Chapin Waters 1936 Cohasset Yacht Club Francis McElwain, Katherine Johnson, Joan Chapin 1935 Cohasset Yacht Club Francis McElwain, Katherine Johnson, Francis Williams 1934 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Lorna Whittelsey, Myrtle Whittelsey, Mrs. DuBois, Kitty Kunhardt 1933 Cohasset Yacht Club Ruth Sears, Katherine Johnson, Francis Williams 1932 Edgartown Yacht Club Clara Dinsmore, Jeanne Sargent, Dorothy Morrell 1931 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Lorna Whittelsey, Helen Willis, Myrtle Whittelsey 1930 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Lorna Whittelsey, Helen Willis, Myrtle Whittelsey 1929 Cohasset Yacht Club Frances Williams, Fanny C. Howmans, Peggy Little 1928 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Lorna Whittelsey, Helen Wills, Edith Wills 1927 Indian Harbor Yacht Club Lorna Whittelsey, Helen Wills, Edith Wills 1926 Cohasset Yacht Club Jessie Bancroft, Catherine Reid, Helen Swain 1925 Cohasset Yacht Club Ruth Sears, Ester Sears 1924 Cohasset Yacht Club Ruth Sears, Ester Sears
References
External links https://www.ussailing.org/