New Zealand’s top youth sailors have battled everything from 30-knot winds to light, shifty conditions to claim national honours at the 2026 PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships and take a major step towards selection for December’s Youth World Championships.
Sixteen sailors claimed titles across six classes following four days of high-quality racing at Auckland’s Murrays Bay Sailing Club, where more than 100 competitors took part. The event also served as trials for the World Sailing Youth Worlds, which returns to Vilamoura from 15-19 December.
After a challenging opening weekend in heavy conditions, the fleet enjoyed two days of champagne sailing before a dramatic final day decided several of the titles.
Male and female winners in four of the six classes will be considered for selection to the NZL Sailing Foundation youth team, with Yachting New Zealand selectors set to finalise the squad in the coming days.
Youth manager Sam Mackay praised the sailors’ resilience and composure.
“The sailors showed incredible determination and skill in very challenging conditions,” Mackay said. “Especially impressive were several sailors who handled the conditions well in what was their first Youth Trials. The quality of racing was high across the fleets, with very little to pick between sailors in some of the competitions.”
From left to right: Bella Jenkins, Elbe White, Jess Handley, Vlad Misescu, Tessa Clinton, Tom Pilkington, Lucy Luxford, Chloe Turner, Valentina Gladiadis, Nelsen Meacham, Riley Peet, Oli Stone, Oliver Tiedemann, Hamish Brown, Dahlia Fyfe and Zenon Nicholas.
Among the standout performers were boys’ 29er pair Nelsen Meacham and Oli Stone, who won three of their 11 races and finished second in six others to secure the national title. They were one of three crews in the fleet to finish inside the top 10 at the class world championships earlier this year and ended the week five points clear of Matteo Barker and Leo Brown, with last year’s Youth Worlds representatives Will Leech and Will Mason in third.
Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley were equally impressive in the girls’ 29er fleet, comfortably securing the title and putting themselves in contention for a second consecutive Youth Worlds campaign. The pair claimed the Female under-19 World Championship title at the same event in Kiel, Germany, in July, where New Zealand was also named the world’s top 29er nation.
Stone is already a Youth Worlds medallist, having claimed bronze in the boys’ 420 alongside Cam Brown in 2025, before switching to the 29er with Meacham this season.
The 2025 NZL Sailing Foundation youth team won three medals last December, its biggest haul in seven years. Toby Wigglesworth claimed silver in the boys’ kitefoil, while Tessa Clinton and Amelia Higson won bronze in the girls’ 420.
The girls’ 420 fleet produced one of the Youth Championships’ most dramatic moments, with Clinton and Lucy Luxford leading the division for much of the week after Clinton joined as a last-minute replacement less than a week before racing began. The pair secured the title despite capsizing in the final race, finishing ahead of second-placed Amber Hughes and Phoebe Willis.
Hamish Brown and Zenon Nicholas also enjoyed a commanding performance in the boys’ 420, winning four races and finishing no lower than fourth to claim their first Youth Trials title together.
The boys’ ILCA 6 title went down to the final race, with Tom Pilkington holding his nerve to secure the championship. Pilkington, who finished 15th at last year’s Youth Worlds, took second in the deciding race to finish one point ahead of Arran Begic, who placed third in the final race.
Chloe Turner claimed the girls’ ILCA 6 title, adding to an impressive international season. Turner won bronze at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, in August, three weeks after claiming bronze at the Youth European Championships in Greece.
Vlad Misescu held off strong challenges from Ben Rist and Josh Tuck to take out the boys’ iQFOiL (windfoil) title, while Elbe White edged Margarita Konstantinova to claim the girls’ crown.
This year’s Youth Championships also marked the debut of the Waszp as an invited class, alongside the wingfoil. Despite its popularity, neither class features on the Youth Worlds event schedule.
Oliver Tiedemann and Dahlia Fyfe claimed the boys’ and girls’ Waszp titles, respectively, while Riley Peet and Valentina Gladiadis topped the wingfoil fleets.
With selection decisions approaching, Mackay said the demanding conditions at Murrays Bay would provide valuable preparation for the international competition.
“We know from last year’s Youth Worlds that we are likely to experience the full range of conditions in Vilamoura, and this week will stand the team in good stead,” he said.
Several sailors in contention for selection already have Youth Worlds experience, including Stone, Jenkins, Handley, Clinton, Pilkington and Turner. Turner and Clinton are both aiming for their fourth campaigns at the event.
New Zealand has a proud history at the Youth Worlds, with past medallists including Josh Armit, Seb Menzies, Alex Maloney, Jo Aleh, Sir Russell Coutts and Blair Tuke. The country has also won the Nations Trophy twice, in 1994 and 2002.
The selected team will spend the coming months working with their respective class coaches on key priorities identified during the event, Mackay said.
“For some of the sailors, there will also be an opportunity to head to Australia for an event in the build-up to the Youth Worlds,” he said.
“Many of these sailors have already achieved top results at recent international events and will be using the next few months to prepare for what will be another excellent chance to achieve further success on the world stage.”
Final results and standings from the 2026 PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships at Murrays Bay Sailing Club are available here.
Originally published by Yachting New Zealand.
