Gearing up for the Youth America’s Cup

The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup (RBYAC) will be raced in the same AC45F that the senior teams use for the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series. Every America’s Cup Challenger and the Defender must enter a team into the RBYAC, with the finals to be fought out during the main competition in Bermuda 2017.

The RBYAC is seen as an important pathway for young sailors into the Cup, and competitors will be hoping to follow the example of two of the sailors aboard the winning New Zealand boat in 2013 – Peter Burling and Blair Tuke – who are now on the Kiwi’s senior sailing crew.

In preparation for the RBYAC, the British America’s Cup Challenger, Land Rover BAR, will also be entering a youth team in the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series that now uses a foiling multihull, the GC32.

“We believe in investing in the next generation,” Team Principal and Skipper Ben Ainslie said. “We want to nurture home grown talent to ensure a lasting legacy and sustainable future as we aim to bring the Cup home to Britain. We’re looking for talented, fit and committed people.”

Applicants for the British team will need to be between 19 and 24 on the 31st December 2017, and can submit an application form at www.landroverbar.com/academy