Kate Stewart is swapping an Olympic campaign for a berth on the Black Foils, signing on as the team's reserve strategist.
Stewart, 27, arrives fresh from the best result of her Olympic campaign, finishing fifth at last month's Nacra 17 European Championship with Micah Wilkinson. She'll keep building towards Los Angeles 2028 alongside her new role with the team.
She joins camp in Sassnitz this week, ahead of her first event with the Foils, the ROCKWOOL Germany Sail Grand Prix, held 22-23 August.
Stewart learned to sail at Wakatere Boating Club in Devonport. She's a two-time Youth World Championship medallist, and in 2014 she won the Tauranga Cup, becoming only the second girl to have her name engraved on the historic New Zealand P-Class trophy. The first was Leslie Egnot, back in 1979, a 35-year gap that says plenty about how rare that achievement is.
Stewart stepped away from the Olympic pathway to finish a university degree before returning to the water in 2025.
"When I left the Olympic pathway, there wasn't a long-term pathway for women like the one we have now," Stewart said. "Finishing my degree and seeing the fantastic roles and opportunities available to women today drew me back in.
"It's an incredible honour to be part of the Black Foils and involved with people who've done amazing things in sailing. They're a strong, tight-knit group with real values and mana, and I want to learn as much as I can from Liv."
She'll work alongside the team's strategist, Liv Mackay, and when she isn't sailing, support the crew from the coaches' booth.
Earlier this month, Stewart completed her first session in SailGP's F50 simulator at SailGP Technologies in Southampton, part of the league's athlete licensing and race-readiness process.
Black Foils Co-CEO Blair Tuke said Stewart's performances since returning to the sport had underlined the talent she showed at youth level.
"Kate's success at youth level was hugely impressive," Tuke said. "After stepping away from the sport for a few years to focus on her studies, she has quietly returned and is already proving herself.
"We're excited to have such a talented sailor join the team and strengthen our depth in the strategist role."
