Heading into its 39th year, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Youth Training Programme stands among the world's most respected high-performance development pathways for young sailors. That standing has now attracted a significant new partner. Emirates Team New Zealand has been announced as the naming partner, and the programme will carry that name going forward as the Emirates Team New Zealand Youth Training Programme.
The relationship between the two organisations runs well beyond a conventional sponsorship. More than 40 alumni of the Youth Training Programme have gone on to work at Emirates Team New Zealand in a wide variety of roles at the team base, a statistic that captures something essential about what the programme has always set out to achieve. From its earliest days, the ambition has not simply been to produce quick sailors, but capable, well-rounded people, and that founding philosophy has held steady across nearly four decades.
Tangible links between the two organisations already exist. Emirates Team New Zealand previously gifted its Elliott 7 fleet to the Youth Training Programme, and those boats remain central to the programme's training operations. The newly formalised naming partnership builds directly on that history, with the team's commitment providing the resources to further sharpen the programme's ability to prepare young sailors for competition at the sport's highest levels.
RNZYS Commodore David Blakey was enthusiastic in welcoming the announcement. "We're absolutely delighted to welcome Emirates Team New Zealand as a major supporter of our Youth Training Programme, now proudly rebranded as the Emirates Team New Zealand Youth Training Programme," he said. "Recognised as world-leading, the programme continues to nurture talented young sailors and open pathways into successful careers across the professional yachting world. This landmark partnership comes at the perfect time, as we enter an exciting new era with Harry Thurston as coach and look ahead to celebrating the programme's 40th anniversary next year."
Emirates Team New Zealand CEO Grant Dalton spoke to the wider importance of supporting development pipelines within the sport. "The pathway from grassroots to the pinnacle of our sport is critical, and the RNZYS Youth Training Programme has consistently delivered exceptional talent," he said. "We are proud to support the programme and invest in the future of New Zealand sailing by helping create opportunities for the next generation."
Stepping into the role of Performance Sailing Coach is Harry Thurston, whose own story offers a good illustration of where the programme can take a young sailor. Thurston is himself a Youth Training Programme graduate who went on to compete as a Red Bull Youth America's Cup sailor before spending time embedded within Emirates Team New Zealand. He has now come full circle, returning to the programme in a coaching capacity. For Thurston, the naming partnership carries genuine meaning for the sailors currently working their way through the programme. "This support not only strengthens the programme financially, but it also creates a meaningful connection between developing sailors and a team competing at the very highest level," he said. "It's incredibly exciting, and another reason why it's such a great time to be stepping into this role."
With Emirates Team New Zealand's name now formally attached to the programme's identity, the Youth Training Programme moves into a fresh chapter guided by the same enduring ambition that has defined it since the beginning: developing great sailors and, above all, great people.
