The NZL Sailing Foundation has unveiled its Youth Team, bringing to a close a demanding selection process built around months of trials, targeted training, and head-to-head competition. New Zealand's finest young sailors will carry national colours to the Youth Sailing World Championships in December, and the squad across nine classes reflects both established performers and athletes whose best sailing lies ahead of them.
The 2025 PredictWind NZ Youth Championships served as the primary selection arena, and the racing there was fierce. Will Leech from Charteris Bay and Will Mason from Worser Bay made the boys' 29er selection straightforward, racking up eight race victories over the course of the regatta. Their girls' counterparts, Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley, both sailing out of Wakatere, locked in their spots by finishing as the top female crew and placing 8th overall in what was a deeply competitive 29er fleet.
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Nowhere was the competition more intense than in the 420 class, where 14 boats and 26 sailors took on testing winds and steep chop to determine the national team. Cam Brown from Wakatere and Oli Stone from Kohimarama were the standout pair in the boys' division, building a seven-win tally to claim the overall title. Tessa Clinton of Wakatere and Amelia Higson from Murrays Bay, long-time training partners, finished 2nd overall and topped the girls' standings. The sheer number of entries and the quality of the sailing across the 420 fleet point to a class in good health.
Tom Pilkington, sailing out of Murrays Bay and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, took four wins to secure the boys' ILCA 6 place in the team. Chloe Turner from Charteris Bay demonstrated considerable tenacity to finish as the top female ILCA 6 sailor, ending the regatta 6th overall.
The foiling classes produced some of the most eye-catching results of the entire championship. Ben Rist of Manly was effectively untouchable in the boys' iQFOiL, posting 13 wins across his series. Daniella Wooldridge from Wakatere went further in the girls' division, sweeping 15 wins to cement her place among the country's top youth foilers. Toby Wigglesworth rounds out the foiling contingent, confirmed to represent New Zealand in kitefoil.
With the Youth Worlds now eight weeks away, the selected sailors move straight into intensive preparation, working closely with their respective class coaches and the wider Yachting New Zealand performance team. The priority will be honing technical skills, building resilience, and dialling in equipment and tactics for the particular conditions expected off the Algarve coast.
The Youth Sailing World Championships have a strong tradition of launching the careers of sailors who go on to reach the very top of the sport. Given the depth this squad has already shown, New Zealand heads to December's competition with genuine confidence.
