Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy

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.[6][7] That organization was later headed by Adams Cup winner "Leggie" Mertz.[8]

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.

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.” [9]

List of champions:

https://www.ussailing.org/