Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay looks ahead as SailGP prepares to hold its first event in Auckland in January. Video / Michael Craig
Liv Mackay is yet to truly reflect on just how monumental 2024 has been in her career.
A strategist with the Black Foils in SailGP, at the helm for Team New Zealand in the women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona, and skipper of the Live Ocean Racing team in the ETF26 Series, the Kiwi sailor has kept a busy schedule.
“I’m really excited to spend the next couple of weeks looking back at the year and then make some real goals going into the rest of the season,” Mackay told the Herald a day after getting back from the first event of the SailGP season in Dubai.
“I never would have dreamed of doing what I am right now, so I’m very grateful for all the opportunities, but at the same time, our sport’s evolving so much for females.
“So right now, the focus is to keep pushing. It’s really exciting to see the league evolving and changing and I really want to just keep pushing for more, for more women to have those opportunities at the top level of our sport.”
In Dubai late last month, that busy trend continued as Mackay not only played a key role in the Black Foils winning the event, but she also got the opportunity to helm one of the league’s F50 foiling catamarans.
As part of the women’s pathway programme (WPP), SailGP hosted an all-women’s camp following the event in Dubai, with 18 athletes getting the opportunity to train, take on different roles on the boat, and race against each other in three three-team races.
The Black Foils won the first SailGP event of season five, defending their title at the Dubai regatta. Photo / Jon Buckle, SailGP
It was the first camp of its kind in SailGP, following on from some all-women training sessions last season, and the latest step in the league’s investment in growing the sport for women.
“It really made a huge jump in everyone’s experience, and for myself personally. I got to helm both days, and it really solidified in me what I know and what I want to do going forward, and for that, I am grateful for the opportunity,” Mackay said.
“It’s just showing what we need to push for going forward.”
The WPP has brought a greater involvement of women on race day. Since late in season two, the campaign in which the Black Foils joined the league, all teams have been required to race with a female athlete on board.
They are usually in the strategist role, where they help navigate the team around the course, pick the wind shifts, take the helm as required when coming out of manoeuvres, and step into a grinding role on light wind days.
That role will likely be a pivotal part in the success of teams when SailGP makes its debut in Auckland on January 18-19, with the league featuring a 12-team fleet for the first time as well as introducing their new high-speed T-Foils.
“I’ve helmed quite a bit, but to have it in a racing environment was really helpful for me to understand more of what Pete [Burling, Black Foils driver] can see when we’re racing in those conditions,” Mackay said of the camp in Dubai.
“I really think it will help me to help feed information; the right information and when. It’s really growing that understanding.”
Season five has seen women signed in roles beyond the strategist position, too. The Brazilian team is helmed by Martine Grael, while Anna Weis is a grinder and jib trimmer for the United States team.
Brazilian Martine Grael is the first female driver in SailGP history. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, SailGP
“The next step, I think it’s really open,” Mackay said of continuing to grow the sport for women.
“There are so many options out there, but with SailGP and given the camp in the recent couple of days, I think there’s now a lot of conversations of how that can evolve throughout the season really, given any sort of commercial backing, there are a lot of options.
“Hopefully there’s some racing, people get more experiences and get integrated into more positions in the teams. Then given the [AC40], maybe there looks like other things there.
“It’s a really exciting time for women in our sport, and I think right now it’s just focusing on performance and really elevating that experience,” Mackay said.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
