The waters off Whangaparāoa will host some of New Zealand's most compelling youth sailing action this September, when Manly Sailing Club stages the 2025 PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships from 20 to 24 September.
The event carries genuine weight for every competitor on the entry list. Selection for the New Zealand Youth Sailing Team is decided here, with those who earn selection going on to represent Aotearoa at the Youth Sailing World Championships. The regatta also reflects how dramatically the sport has changed, pairing the established Olympic dinghy classes with foiling boards that are rewriting what youth sailing looks like.
The dinghy fleets form the competitive core of the week. In the singlehanded ILCA 6 division, Murrays Bay Sailing Club features prominently, with Sam Clarke and Tom Pilkington joined by Chloe Turner and George Turner, the latter two sharing a surname by coincidence rather than family connection. Ten races will decide who among them has what it takes.
The 29er fleet, with its trapeze and asymmetric spinnaker, rewards athleticism and quick decision-making. Hugh and Sean Kensington, sailing out of Kohimarama and Royal Akarana respectively, are among the names to watch, as are Ewan Brazle and Toby Clark from Manly SC. All-female pairings add depth to the division, including Kate Howse and Lola Hamilton representing Kohimarama and Maraetai, and Alexis Heckler and Isla Kee from Kohimarama and Torbay. Twelve short-format races will keep every crew under sustained pressure throughout the regatta.
The 420 continues its long history as a global youth sailing cornerstone, and the New Zealand entry list reflects the class's broad geographic reach. Amber Hughes and Phoebe Willis from Kohimarama and Murrays Bay, Flora Stevens and Sasha White from Glendowie and Kohimarama, and Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley from Glendowie and Murrays Bay make up part of the women's contingent. Men's entries include Cam Brown and Oli Stone from Wakatere and Kohimarama, alongside Wanaka's Thomas Jurczyluk and Oliver Wyeth. Ten races are on the schedule.
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The foiling boards bring a different kind of energy to the event. The iQFOiL 8m, the Olympic windsurfing discipline, has drawn a competitive group including Finn Davies and Josh Tuck from Wakatere, Ben Rist from Manly, and Margarita Konstantinova from Christchurch Windsurfing and Naval Point. With up to 18 course and slalom races planned, that fleet will demand both stamina and versatility across varying conditions.
Wingfoiling sits outside the Youth Worlds selection pathway for now, but its presence at the championship signals where the sport is heading. Hugo Appleby of Worser Bay and Martin Bouchet from New Caledonia are among those bringing the discipline into New Zealand's youth sailing conversation at this level.
The competitive week is preceded by the Yachting New Zealand Coaches Regatta, running at Manly just before the Championships open. For competitors, it offers a final opportunity to dial in equipment and test conditions on the same water where the serious racing will unfold days later.
Clubs from one end of the country to the other, from Wanaka to Worser Bay and Torbay to Wakatere, have committed time and resources to the sailors gathering at Manly. The week will reward that preparation, the hours of training, and the dedication of athletes, coaches, and families alike. Among those who race off Whangaparāoa this September, there are almost certainly future Olympians and SailGP competitors still at the very start of what those careers might become.
