Liv Mackay was one of five athletes selected for the Team New Zealand women's team. Photo / ETNZ
Liv Mackay was one of five athletes selected for the Team New Zealand women's team. Photo / ETNZ
Olympians and SailGP stars have been tasked with bringing the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup title back to New Zealand from Barcelona next year.
After a star-studded group of eight were invited to attend a week-long trial for five positions in the Team New Zealand squad, Liv Mackay, Jo Aleh, Erica Dawson, Molly Meech and Gemma Jones have been named as the quintet to sail in Spain.
It’s a strong group of talent for Team New Zealand to work with, and they will begin working in early February to come to terms with sailing an AC40 on the water rather than on the simulator and figure out who is best suited for what roles on the boat.
They’ll be joined in that pursuit by Team New Zealand’s youth team, which was also named following a separate week-long trial. A group of 10 trialists were initially named for the youth team, with six for the women’s team, so two of the prospective youth team members instead joined the trial for the women’s team, including multiple-time windfoiling national champion Veerle ten Have.
Ten Have will line up for the return of the Youth America’s Cup alongside Seb Menzies, Leo Takahashi, Oscar Gunn and Josh Armit.
Mackay and Takahashi already have experience sailing an AC40, joining Team New Zealand for a period of two-boat testing earlier this year.
Takahashi, fresh off a podium finish as crew in the World Match Racing championships, said confirmation of his place in the team was “icing on the cake”.
The teams will compete in an AC40 in Barcelona. Photo / America's Cup
While the main America’s Cup regatta will feature six teams competing for the Auld Mug, the women’s and youth events have twice that number.
Every America’s Cup team was required to enter a team into the other two regattas, while the rest of the 12-strong fleet will be comprised of yacht clubs from around the globe who have been invited to compete including entries from Spain, Sweden, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany.
Team New Zealand sailor Josh Junior, who led the selection process, said the syndicate had been able to put together two exciting groups for the respective regattas.
“Selection is just the first step of a mountain to climb, we want to win both,” Junior said.
“The hard work starts now, and we hope to continue for many years to come in the team.”
The youth team will be the first in action on the waters of Barcelona, with the Youth America’s Cup running from late September and concluding in early October, with the final scheduled to run alongside the final of the Challenger Series.
The women’s regatta begins two days later, on October 4 local time, with the final of that event set to run between races in the America’s Cup match later in the month.
Team New Zealand women’s team
Jo Aleh - Olympic Gold & Silver medals in 470 class / NZLSailGP
Erica Dawson - Tokyo Olympics Nacra - 12th / NZLSailGP
Gemma Jones - Nacra 17 Rio Olympics 2016 - 4th
Liv Mackay - World Champion Red Bull Foiling Generation / NZLSailGP
