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What are the PredictWind New Zealand Youth Championships?
The regatta is New Zealand's premier youth sailing event and a key opportunity for young sailors to bring together their season's progress. It also doubles as the official selection trials for the 2025 youth sailing world championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, from 12 to 20 December.
Yachting New Zealand youth programme manager Sam Mackay says the trials will round out a standout year.
"This is a pinnacle event in the youth calendar and there are strong numbers coming through the programme, with 71 sailors attending the recent national clinic at Manly Sailing Club," he said. "Across the board, sailors are putting significant time and effort into their development, with 28 of them heading overseas to international regattas during the winter."
The trials are designed to mirror the international stage.
"We try to emulate as closely as possible what sailors can expect at a youth worlds, especially around being independent and managing themselves," Mackay added.
"Parental and coaching involvement will be restricted, with the boat park fenced off for competitors and officials only, while on the water coaches must remain in a designated box and cannot tow boats in or out."
Yachting New Zealand will provide class coaches for daily debriefs and share video analysis of starts and mark roundings as learning tools.
Entries are now open in the 29er, 420, ILCA 6, iQFOiL (8m) and, after its successful debut last year, wingfoiling classes.
Click here to enter.
When and where will it be held?
Racing takes place from Sunday, 21 to Wednesday, 24 September 2025 at Manly Sailing Club, with measurement on Saturday, 20 September.
The four-day format will allow sailors to experience a wider range of conditions and the same type of pressure they are likely to face in Portugal, Mackay said.
Thirteen champions were crowned at the 2024 New Zealand youth championships.
What's at stake?
Apart from the obvious youth championships titles, the top male and female sailors in four of the five classes will be considered for selection to represent New Zealand at the youth worlds. Wingfoiling will again be part of the regatta but is not yet included in the world championship programme.
New Zealand has a proud history at the youth worlds, with Josh Armit, Seb Menzies, Blake McGlashan, Sam Meech, Alex Maloney, Jo Aleh, Sir Russell Coutts, Blair Tuke, Dean Barker and Stuart Bannatyne some of those to have won medals.
The nations trophy is also awarded to the best overall country and New Zealand has won it twice (1994 and 2002) since it was introduced in 1991. The youth worlds themselves have grown from 16 nations in 1971 to more than 400 sailors from 70 countries in 2024 at Lake Garda, Italy.
What happened at last year?
The 2024 trials at Murrays Bay Sailing Club produced 13 champions - among them Will Leech and Sean Kensington in the boys' 29er, Bella Jenkins and Nicola Hume in the girls' 29er, Cam Brown and Alex Norman in the boys' 420, and Tessa Clinton with Jess Handley in the girls' 420. Zach Stibbe edged Winston Liesebach in the boys' ILCA 6, while Chloe Turner dominated the girls' fleet. Jack Parr and Sofia Currie claimed the iQFOiL honours, and in wingfoiling Hugo Wigglesworth snatched victory by a single point.
At the 2024 youth worlds in Lake Garda, New Zealand showed its depth across the team. Stibbe came closest to the podium with fifth in the boys' ILCA 6, while Wigglesworth was seventh in boys' kitefoil and Leech and Kensington were 10th in the boys' 29er.
Who are the ones to watch in 2025?
With many of last year's team moving out of the youth ranks - including Stibbe, Currie, Parr, Hume, Wigglesworth and Kensington - the field is wide open. Among those expected to feature strongly are Ben Rist, Vlad Misescu and Josh Tuck in the boys' iQFOiL, and Daniella Wooldridge, Margarita Konstantinov and Gabrielle Dalton-Wilson in the girls' fleet.
National 29er champions Leech and Will Mason, who also won silver at the Euro Cup in Kiel, will battle it out with Nelsen Meacham and Joe Leith, who were 11th at the European championships, Ewan Brazle and Toby Clark (pictured top), and Jenkins, now paired with Handley, in the girls skiff.
Bella Jenkins and Jess Handley are expected to be near the front of the 29er fleet. Photo / Insight Media
In the 420 girls' fleet Clinton and Amelia Higson will start as favourites, though they can expect a stern challenge from RS Feva world champions Zofia Wells and Charlotte Handley. Brown and new teammate Oli Stone will lead a fast-emerging group of new crews in the boys competition.
Turner is tipped to be hard to beat in the girls' ILCA 6 after being crowned top under-17 female at the youth worlds in Los Angeles, while Tom Pilkington, Miro Luxford and Arran Begic are the leading male contenders.
"Many of our youth sailors have shown they know how to win internationally. The youth trials give them another valuable chance to test themselves, learn and improve," Mackay said.
"While the youth worlds is a special milestone, it's important to note that the programme doesn't pause for those not selected. A busy summer of racing and coaching lies ahead, continuing to support the development of all sailors in the programme."
