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The domestic sailing season is winding down, but the Aon national youth programme is about to ramp up.
More than 40 of the country’s top young sailors attended the latest coaching clinic, held at Wakatere Boating Club with some of the country’s leading coaches - including Olympian Molly Meech, Logan Dunning-Beck, Geoff Woolley, and Patrick Haybittle - putting them through their paces.
This was the fourth clinic of a busy regatta season, following the four-day national youth camp at Manly Sailing Club in December and clinics at Nelson Sailing Club and Kohimarama Yacht Club in January.
According to Yachting New Zealand youth and events manager Sam Mackay, two more Auckland clinics are planned - at Murrays Bay Sailing Club and Royal Akarana Yacht Club - before dozens of youth sailors head to various international events in Europe from June.
"We've also just wrapped up our Tuesday night racing series, which featured several 29er and ILCA 6 sailors, and we’ll be stepping it up over the coming months with a broader youth world championships squad training most weekends," Mackay said.
"We’re expecting over 30 youth sailors to compete overseas this season, which would be the largest number since before Covid-19. Many will be aiming to gain valuable international experience, but there are certainly a few who will be confident of achieving strong results."
The Aon national youth programme forms part of the wider NZL Sailing high-performance programme, designed to prepare sailors to perform on the world stage, win medals, take ownership of their development, and pursue Olympic pathways.
This year, the focus has been on identifying what the world’s best is in every area, accurately measuring where each sailor is in comparison and being deliberate with time on the water to make gains quickly, Mackay said.
"There has been ongoing emphasis on having world-standard boat handling, consistent starts, and being able to identity what’s going to happen next while under pressure."
The New Zealand youth championships are scheduled for September and will also serve as the selection trial for the 2025 youth sailing world championships in Vilamoura, Portugal, in December.
Click here for more information about the Aon national youth programme.
