Team New Zealand’s plan to develop next generation as recruitment for Youth and Women’s America’s Cup teams begins

The Youth and Women's America's Cup regattas will be contested on AC40s. Photo / America's Cup.

Josh Junior is ready to guide the next generation of Kiwi America’s Cup athletes.

Next year’s event in Barcelona will be the first time women have the opportunity to showcase their talents on the America’s Cup stage in an exclusively female regatta, while the return of youth racing provides a vital platform for young athletes to immerse themselves in a high-performance environment adjacent to one of the sport’s biggest events.

Team New Zealand has a strong history in the Youth America’s Cup, which features sailors between the ages of 18 and 25, finishing first and second in the regatta in 2013 and 2017 respectively. It has proven to be a pathway to the America’s Cup - several members of the Team New Zealand crew have been a part of the youth event during their careers, including Peter Burling, Blair Tuke and Andy Maloney.

“It’s a good chance to showcase New Zealand and how good our sailors are, but also a good chance for us to see the talent coming through and who could potentially be in the team next time around or into the future,” Junior told the Herald.

“We’ve got so many talented female sailors in New Zealand and it’s amazing we’re going to be able to showcase those skills, and to have the youth alongside is quite special. That’s where the future is coming from for our team.”

Team New Zealand this week opened applications for prospective members of their women’s and youth crews, with Junior leading a seven-strong panel in selecting 16 potential new members of the team.

Those 16 – eight in each new crew – will then be whittled down later in the year to the 10 tasked with challenging for the Cups.

The youth regatta was due to be held alongside the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, however it was cancelled due to Government restrictions around immigration.

In 2024, the youth and women’s America’s Cups will be contested on AC40s – a scaled-down model of the AC75 foiling monohull. The vessel requires four crew to sail, with two helmspeople and two trimmers and one of each positioned on either side of the boat.

That set-up alone presents plenty of challenges, with communication key as sailors can’t see what’s happening on the other side of the vessel.

“The boats are pretty challenging to sail. The thing that’s different about these boats is that you sail a lot off the data and the numbers compared to more by feel when you’re sailing your dinghies and such. We’ll be looking for those sorts of skills,” Junior said.

“I think anyone is capable of learning the skills, it’s just a matter of the talented sailors will always shine through. Those sailors who are skilled in whatever they do will be able to transition across, it will just take a little bit of time.”

The initial 16 sailors selected by the panel will get to spend a week with Team New Zealand getting a feel for the environment and being run through some tests, with the women’s group in one week and the youth in the other. The Youth America’s Cup is for sailors between 18 and 25, while any woman 18 or older is welcome to apply for the women’s regatta.

“We’re really excited to see the talented sailors from around New Zealand apply, and to have the top eight come and join us at the base and really get a feel for what it’s like to be a part of Team New Zealand and the America’s Cup, and at the end of it have a really great team that can go forward and hopefully win the event in Barcelona.”