The 54th Youth Sailing World Championships are under way in Vilamoura, Portugal, with competitive racing having begun on Monday 15 December following several days of practice along the Algarve coast. The regatta runs from 12 to 20 December, drawing more than 400 sailors representing up to 70 countries, and it remains the sport's most important international proving ground for young talent.
Racing across all fleets is live streamed throughout the week on World Sailing TV's YouTube channel, giving sailing fans everywhere a front-row seat to one of the year's most keenly contested regattas.
For those following Kiwi sailing, this event carries particular significance. Time and again the Youth Worlds have served as the launching pad for sailors who go on to Olympic medals, America's Cup campaigns, SailGP rosters, and professional offshore careers at the highest level.
First staged in 1971 with just 16 participating nations, the Youth Sailing World Championships have grown dramatically in scope and ambition. Last year's edition at Lake Garda featured sailors from more than 70 countries, a figure that reflects both the depth of the youth pathway and the global reach of modern competitive sailing.
New Zealand's record at this regatta is a distinguished one. Kiwi sailors have accumulated 55 medals in total, comprising 17 gold, 20 silver, and 18 bronze, with the tally stretching all the way back to the inaugural event in Sweden. The 2018 team produced one of the country's finest collective performances, equalling the national record with four medals at the Corpus Christi regatta.
The list of past Kiwi medallists amounts to a roll call of sailing's elite. Russell Coutts, Chris Dickson, Dean Barker, Alex Maloney, Blair Tuke, and Stuart Bannatyne each passed through this regatta before going on to Olympic podiums, America's Cup helms, and Volvo Ocean Race campaigns. The international record tells a similar story. Robert Scheidt built on his 1991 Laser win here to claim two Olympic gold medals and eight senior world titles, while Ben Ainslie's 1995 Youth Worlds victory was the opening chapter of a career that would eventually yield four Olympic golds.
In the overall medal standings, France remain the most successful nation, holding 76 medals and 11 Nations Trophy wins since that trophy was introduced in 1991. Italy have been the dominant force in more recent editions and arrive in Vilamoura with their sights set on a third consecutive Nations Trophy.
The Youth Sailing World Championships mirror the Olympic sailing structure, bringing male, female, and mixed fleets together across six classes and 11 events. The classes competing this week are ILCA 6, 420, 29er, Nacra 15, iQFOiL Youth, and Formula Kite. To be eligible, sailors must be over 12 and under 19 years of age as of 31 December 2025. Racing is scheduled to begin at midday local time from Monday through Thursday, with an earlier start on Friday 19 December when the final races precede the evening prizegiving.
*ILCA 6*
The ILCA 6 fleets will sail nine races in total, two per day through the opening four days before a single deciding race on Friday.
Among the women, Ukraine's Alina Shapovalova is a figure to watch, having finished fifth at last year's Youth Worlds and taken second at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships earlier in 2025. Argentina's Delfina Kuttel brings a fourth-place finish from the 2024 Youth Worlds, while Fidan Aghazada makes history as the first sailor from Azerbaijan to compete at this regatta.
New Zealand's Chloe Turner enters the fleet in strong form, having claimed the global under-17 title earlier this year. Turner has twice topped the women's fleet at the New Zealand ILCA nationals and earned selection to the New Zealand Youth Team on three occasions.
On the men's side, Italy's Alessandro Cirinei is the standard-bearer. The reigning Youth Boys World Champion, he added the ILCA 6 Men's World Championship title at Kiel in June. Croatia's Josip Tafra and Argentina's Joaquin Galvan, both previous podium finishers at the Youth Worlds, will be among those looking to challenge him, as will Australia's Healy Ryan, the 2024 under-17 European champion.
New Zealand's Tom Pilkington, the 2025 New Zealand ILCA youth national champion, rounds out the Kiwi presence in the ILCA 6, arriving having finished fourth overall at the 2024 Governor's Cup.
| Chloe Turner Murrays Bay Sailing Club, Auckland Turner is one of New Zealand’s standout prospects at this regatta, arriving as the reigning under-17 world champion. She has twice topped the women’s fleet at the New Zealand ILCA nationals and has been selected for the New Zealand Youth Team on three occasions. |
| Tom Pilkington Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Auckland Pilkington comes into the Youth Worlds as the 2025 New Zealand ILCA youth national champion. He also placed fourth overall at the 2024 Governor’s Cup, adding offshore regatta experience to his campaign. |
*420*
The 420 fleets will also contest nine races, with both teams benefiting from recent experience on these waters after the Youth Portugal Grand Prix took place in Vilamoura earlier this month.
Brazil's Said Royo and Bernardo Oliveira are the clear favourites in the men's fleet, having swept both the Open European and World Championships in 2025. Greece's Sokratis Chamarias and Iason Xypas, silver medallists at the World Championships, will be eager to reverse that result.
In the women's 420, Spain's Neus Fernandez Darder and Martina Gomila Darder have already collected World Championship gold and Junior European silver this year, establishing themselves as the pair to beat. Greece's Georgia Faviou and Amalia Papanikita are their nearest rivals.
New Zealand's Tessa Clinton and Amelia Higson come to Vilamoura with genuine confidence after finishing second at the Vilamoura Grand Prix, placing them firmly among the medal contenders. Fellow Kiwis Cam Brown and Oli Stone add further depth to New Zealand's 420 presence.
| Tessa Clinton Wakatere Boating Club, Auckland, helm Clinton is one of the most experienced Youth Worlds campaigners in the team, having won Youth Trials three times and claimed both 29er and 420 national titles in the same season. |
| Amelia Higson Kohimarama Yacht Club, Auckland, crew Higson qualified for the Youth Team after a strong domestic season, including victory at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland and three consecutive regattas as top girl in the Starling class. |
| Cam Brown Wakatere Boating Club, Auckland, helm Brown has multiple national titles to his name and has previously represented New Zealand at Youth Worlds, with race wins recorded overseas. |
| Oli Stone Kohimarama Yacht Club, Auckland, crew Stone finished 16th at the 2025 420 Open World Championships and is a two-time New Zealand P Class national champion, and third at the 2024 29er Youth Trials. |
*29er*
The 29er programme is the most racing-intensive of the skiff classes, with 13 races scheduled at three per day through Thursday.
Poland's Alicja Dampc is the defending champion, returning this year alongside Antonina Puchowska. The pair have been in fine form in 2025, winning both the World and European titles before arriving in Vilamoura. Italy's Bianca Marchesini and Lucia Finato, who finished second at the Worlds, are among those best placed to mount a challenge.
One of the more striking features of this year's 29er fleet is the presence of five sister pairings, underlining how strong the family pipeline remains in youth skiff sailing.
New Zealand's 29er contingent includes Bella Jenkins, Jess Handley, Will Leech, and William Mason. Leech brings South Island representation to the group, having placed second at Kiel Week earlier in 2025.
| Bella Jenkins Kohimarama Yacht Club, Auckland, helm Jenkins has been selected for the New Zealand Youth Team in both 2024 and 2025. She is a three-time New Zealand P Class girls’ champion and a three-time Interdominion Schools Teams Racing winner with Westlake Girls High School. |
| Jess Handley Murrays Bay Sailing Club, Auckland, crew Handley is a two-time Youth Trials winner across the 420 and 29er and is the current New Zealand 29er national girls’ champion. |
| Will Leech Charteris Bay Yacht Club, Christchurch, helm Leech brings South Island representation to the team. He placed second at Kiel Week in the Euro Cup 8 fleet and is a two-time New Zealand youth champion and a two-time Optimist national champion. |
| William Mason Wakatere Boating Club, Auckland, crew Mason has won back-to-back Optimist and Starling national titles, followed by consecutive 29er national championships, and placed second at Kiel Week. |
*Nacra 15*
The foiling Nacra 15 fleet races over the same 13-race schedule as the 29er. Italy's Lorenzo Sirena and Alice Dessy return as defending champions after winning gold at the 2024 Youth Worlds and backing that up with World Championship victory earlier this season. France's Emilie Mansouri and Marius Praud, runners-up at the World Championships, will be pushing hard to close the gap in Vilamoura.
Spain's Pepe Garcia Grindille and Aina Rivas arrive with notable coaching pedigree behind them. Their coach, Toni Rivas, was part of Spain's Tornado gold medal programme at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, bringing an elite level of tactical and technical knowledge to the Spanish campaign.
*iQFOiL*
Of all the fleets at this regatta, the iQFOiL windsurfers face the most demanding schedule, with 18 races planned across the week.
Australia's Rory Meehan leads the men's fleet as the Youth and Junior World Champion, having also raced consistently in senior gold fleets throughout the year. Turkey's Artun Senol and Italy's Mattia Saoncella, each a podium finisher at the Youth and Junior Worlds, are the most likely challengers.
In the women's iQFOiL fleet, Italy's Medea Falcioni holds the Youth and Junior World Championship title, while Turkey's Nurhayat Güven arrives with recent podium form from Brest. New Zealand's Ben Rist and Daniella Wooldridge lead the Kiwi challenge in this class, both having gained valuable racing experience in Europe ahead of the championships.
| Ben Rist Manly Sailing Club, Auckland Rist arrives after winning Sail Melbourne and the 2025 New Zealand Youth Championships. He also finished 17th at the iQFOiL Games in Torbole, Italy. |
| Daniella Wooldridge Wakatere Boating Club, Auckland Wooldridge previously competed at the Youth Worlds in the 420 before switching to iQFOiL. She won the 2025 New Zealand Youth Trials after racing at the Youth and Junior Worlds in 2024. |
*Formula Kite*
The Formula Kite fleets will also race 18 times across the week. In the women's division, 13-year-old American Molly O'Brien is among the most eye-catching entries, lining up alongside Poland's Karolina Jankowska and Turkey's Derin Deniz Sorguc, both top-four finishers at this year's Youth Worlds. Switzerland's Gian Andrea Stragiotti tops the men's fleet entry after claiming silver at the Youth Worlds and back-to-back under-19 European titles, with Israel's Carmel Avisar, a bronze medallist, also firmly in contention.
New Zealand's representative in Formula Kite is Toby Wigglesworth of Manly Sailing Club, Auckland. Wigglesworth brings crossover experience from both sailing and kiteboarding, with recent results including a win at Oceanbridge Sail Auckland and third place at the New Zealand kitefoil nationals.
*Sustainability in focus*
Sustainability continues to be a central commitment of the Youth Worlds programme. The Vilamoura Sailing venue is powered entirely by solar energy, and organisers have made a concerted effort to eliminate single-use plastics through the provision of refill stations and reusable containers. Communication throughout the regatta is handled digitally wherever possible to reduce paper use, electric robotic marks and support craft are deployed on the water, and event materials have been designed with reuse at future championships in mind.
All racing is live streamed on World Sailing TV's YouTube channel, with updates available each day as the regatta progresses. Full event information and results are available at worldsailingywc.org.
