The New Zealand team is made up of ten sailors representing the country in all seven classes sailed at the annual regatta which takes place over seven days. 47 other countries and 315 sailors will be in Korea for the event where racing is held at the same venue as the Seoul Olympic Sailing regatta of 1988. While competing within the seven youth classes, the team’s overall performance is compared with the other nations for the Volvo Team Trophy won last year by the French.

Yachting New Zealand 2005 Youth Team
Principle sponsor: NZL Yachting Trust

Blair McLay – Torbay Sailing Club – Laser
Olivia Powrie – Kohimarama Yacht Club – Laser Radial
Peter Burling & Bruce Kennedy – Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club – 420 Boys
Georgina Hill & Michelle Kennedy – Kohimarama Yacht Club - 420 Girls
Antonio Cozzolino – Kohimarama Yacht Club – Mistral Board Boys
Steffanie Williams - Kohimarama Yacht Club – Mistral Board Girls
Rory & Kelly Godman – Burkes St Leonard Yacht Club, Dunedin – Hobie 16

The regatta is well known for revealing sailing stars of the future and is regarded as somewhat of a Youth equivalent to the Olympic Games. Past medal winners for New Zealand include Chris Dickson, Russell Coutts, Dean Barker, Dan Slater, Thomas Ashley and many more. The 2005 New Zealand team was selected and announced at YouthSail 2005 held at Murrays Bay on Auckland’s North Shore in late April and since then the group have been training hard in preparation for the tough competition they are likely to face in Korea.

“Stars of the Past and Stars of the Future, the number of ISAF Youth World medallists who have gone on to compete at pinnacle events of the sport, be it the Olympic Games, Americas Cup, offshore events or speed-sailing is testament to the significance of this event as an indicator of future greatness,” reports ISAF. “If you cast your eyes over the list of ISAF Youth Worlds medal winners the names of the champions from across the world of sailing leap off the page.”

Three of our sailors have the experience of last years ISAF World Youth Sailing Champs in Poland. McLay, Cozzolino and Powrie are back in the team for a second or third year.

Among the most seasoned sailors in this year’s New Zealand team are the Laser representatives. Blair McLay was 8th in last years ISAF World Youth Sailing Champs and has recorded some impressive results in the open Laser fleets since then. He was 2nd at the New Zealand Laser National Champs earlier this year, 5th in the Asia Pacifics and 8th at Sail Melbourne. McLay is a determined and focussed young sailor with aspirations of an Olympic Gold medal in the future.

Olivia Powrie was part of the 2003 and 2004 New Zealand teams, though this year she switches into the single-handed Laser Radial having helmed the double-handed 420 in previous years. She has made the change with ease racking up impressive results in this year’s Radial regattas in New Zealand and across the Tasman. She, like McLay has consistently been the top performing youth in the season’s major regattas.

Peter Burling is one of New Zealand’s rising stars and has made his mark coming through Opti’s, P-Class, Starling and now at the helm of a 420. Burling’s crew for the ISAF World Youth Champs is Bruce Kennedy; both are from the Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club. Team coach Ian Neely was impressed with the pair’s performance at YouthSail 2005.

“Burling and Kennedy were very slick,” says Neely. “They know how to sail fast. Overall, I’m very impressed with the standard of this year’s team. A lot of them have put in plenty of hard work over the past year and its showing.”

Kohimarama team Georgina Hill and Michelle Kennedy will sail in the 21-boat Girls 420 fleet in Korea. The girls will be joining Burling and Kennedy and a further seven 420 crews to go on and compete at the 420 World Champs in Brest, France soon after the Youth Worlds are over.

Our Mistral board sailing representatives are both from Kohimarama Yacht Club in Auckland and are coached by Academy Coach and team manager, Paul Page. Antonio Cozzolino is back in the team having competed in Poland last year. This year he is up against 18 other nations in the Mistral Boys class while Steffanie Williams takes on 12 competitors in the Mistral Girls.

The youngest member of the team is Kelly Godman at 13 years old sailing the Hobie Cat with her older brother Rory at the helm. The Dunedin pair from Burkes St Leonard Yacht Club impressed the selectors with their hardy performance in the strong breeze that faced the pair when sailing in Auckland over the weekend of YouthSail 2005.

Principle sponsor of the team is NZL Yachting Trust. Further support from NZAOS, The Southern Trust, ASB Bank, Line 7 and Endeavour Eyewear is also greatly appreciated.

Source: Yachting New Zealand - Jodie Perkins