TNZ confirm lineups for sailing teams
Olympians and SailGP stars have been tasked with bringing the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup title back to New Zealand from Barcelona next year.
After a star- studded group of eight were invited to attend a week- long trial for five positions in the Team New Zealand squad, Liv Mackay, Jo Aleh, Erica Dawson, Molly Meech and Gemma Jones have been named as the quintet to sail in Spain.
They will begin working in early February to come to terms with sailing an AC40 on the water rather than on the simulator and figure out who is best suited for what roles on the boat.
They’ll be joined in that pursuit by Team New Zealand’s youth team, which was also named following a separate week- long trial. Ten athletes were invited to trial for a spot in the team, with some of the female sailors invited to trial for both teams.
One of those was multiple- time wind foiling national champion Veerle ten Have, who will line up for the return of the Youth America’s Cup alongside Seb Menzies, Leo Takahashi, Oscar Gunn and Josh Armit.
Mackay and Takahashi already have experience sailing an AC40, joining Team New Zealand for a period of two- boat testing earlier this year.
Takahashi, fresh off a podium finish as crew in the world match racing championships, said confirmation of his place in the team was “icing on the cake”.
While the main America’s Cup regatta will feature six teams competing for the Auld Mug, the women’s and youth events have 12.
Every America’s Cup team was required to enter a team in the other two regattas, while the rest of the fleet will be comprised of yacht clubs from around the globe who have been invited to compete.
Team New Zealand sailor Josh Junior, who led the selection process, said the syndicate had been able to put together two exciting groups for the regattas.
“We want to win both,” he said.
The Youth America’s Cup runs from late September to early October, with the final scheduled to run alongside the final of the Challenger Series.
The women’s regatta begins two days later, on October 4 local time, with the final of that event set to run between races in the America’s Cup.