Almost 100 of the country’s top young sailors will converge on Auckland’s North Shore from this weekend, with places on the 2026 NZL Sailing Foundation Youth Team on the line.
The 2026 PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships run from 26-29 September at Murrays Bay Sailing Club, with 96 sailors set to compete across seven classes. The regatta also serves as the official selection trials for the 2026 World Sailing Youth Sailing World Championships.
The male and female winners in the 29er, ILCA 6, 420 and iQFOiL classes will be eligible for selection to represent New Zealand at the Youth Worlds, which will be held in Vilamoura, Portugal, from 15-19 December.
Waszp and wingfoil sailors have been invited to compete, with Waszp making its first appearance at the event. Neither class is currently on the event slate at the World Sailing Youth Worlds.
The championships mark the beginning of a new youth campaign following New Zealand’s impressive showing at last year’s Youth Sailing World Championships in Portugal, where the 13-strong team claimed three medals. Toby Wigglesworth won silver in boys’ kitefoil, while Tessa Clinton and Amelia Higson secured bronze in the girls’ 420, and Cam Brown and Oli Stone took bronze in the boys’ 420.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing a strong fleet of young sailors test themselves at our pinnacle domestic youth event of the year,” said Yachting New Zealand’s Athlete Development Manager, Geoff Woolley.
“Sailors and coaches have put in a lot of great work throughout the year, and the Youth Trials are a chance to put that into practice under pressure. While the opportunity to earn selection and represent New Zealand is an important part of the event, equally valuable is having a strong fleet racing together at a high level. Domestic training and racing is the foundation of the youth programme, and we want to keep building on that momentum throughout the summer season.”
Tom Pilkington is one of several members of last year’s NZL Sailing Foundation Youth Team, who will be back at the Youth Trials from this weekend. Photo / Insight Media
Several members of last year’s team return to compete at Murrays Bay, including 29er teams Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley, and Will Leech and Will Mason. Higson and Stone have also moved into the skiff, joining the 29er fleet alongside Greta Hutton and Nelsen Meacham, respectively.
Last year’s ILCA 6 representatives, Tom Pilkington and Chloe Turner, return to the same fleet, while Ben Rist will compete in the iQFOiL 8m, bringing valuable Youth Worlds experience into a strong national field.
The 29er fleet features 14 crews, while 21 sailors are entered in the ILCA 6. Nine crews will compete in the 420, with five entries in each iQFOiL division. The invited Waszp class has attracted 10 sailors, while seven wingfoilers will take to the water.
“We’re incredibly thankful for the support of our highly experienced race management team, jury and fantastic volunteers,” Wolley added.
“Murrays Bay Sailing Club has already put a huge amount of work into the event, and we’re looking forward to delivering a great week of racing.”
The action begins on Saturday, 26 September, following the competitors’ briefing at 11am, with racing scheduled across multiple courses off Murrays Bay.
Toby Wigglesworth won silver in the boys’ kitefoil at last year’s Youth World Championships. Photo / World Sailing
2026 PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships entries:
29er (girls): Mila Blundell/Kate Howse, Bella Jenkins/Jess Handley, Julia Nguyen/Sienna Meikle, Greta Hutton/Amelia Higson.
29er (boys): Harry Draper/Nate Soper, Will Fyfe/Callum Hyde, Hugh Kensington/Keaton Lay, Nelsen Meacham/Oli Stone, Matteo Barker/Leo Brown, James Currell/Robert Abel Pattinson, Blake Batten/Hugo Smith, Will Leech/Will Mason, Blake Duncan/Merrick Sanderson, Tom Hall/Roberto Beavis.
420 (girls): Oak Galbraith/Lucy Luxford, Zofia Wells/Charlotte Handley, Amber Hughes/Phoebe Willis.
420 (boys/mixed): Hamish Brown/Zenon Nicholas, Micah Bollen/Siella Felton, Ashton Cooke/Charlie Bridger, Philippa Wiltshire/William Noyer, Harry Strang/Jeffrey Chenglin Du, Sam Stead/Tehya Harris.
ILCA 6 (girls): Emily Turner, Chloe Turner, Sofia Turner, Mia Peters, Kiera Dimock.
ILCA 6 (boys): Ryan O’Neill, Toby Dunn, Logan Adams, Sam Foster, Thomas Jurczyluk, George Turner, Thomas Linklater, Arran Begic, Isaac Gaites, Louis Quere, Tom Pilkington, Vincent Scott, Thomas Burrowes, Ethan Gard, Noah Petersen, Louis Yang.
iQFOIL 7.3m: Gabrielle Dalton-Wilson, Elbe White, Margarita Konstantinova, Emilie Wade, Honor Fyfe.
iQFOIL 8m: Ben Rist, Josh Tuck, Vlad Misescu, Finn Davies, Nicolas Segers.
Waszp: Oliver Tiedemann, Ewan Brazle, Flinn Olson, Dahlia Fyfe, Saxon Foggo, Lewis Snape, Lauchy Wills, Michaela Gardner, Alexis Heckler, Chase Torbet.
Wingfoil: Riley Peet, Adam Mark, Hugo Davies, Valentina Gladiadis, Eric Yao, Juliet White, Amanda Romero.
Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
