Issue date
Zach Stibbe was the standout at the 2024 youth world championships at Lake Garda in Italy - and although the event didn’t yield any medals, there were several encouraging performances.
Stibbe came closest to the podium with a fifth-place finish in the boys’ ILCA 6 at the event in July and remained in contention for silverware until the final race of the regatta.
Several others in the 13-strong NZL Sailing Foundation youth team also delivered strong individual performances, with boys’ kitefoiler Hugo Wigglesworth (seventh) and Will Leech and Sean Kensington (boys’ 29er, 10th) finishing in the top 10 in their respective classes.
Bella Jenkins and Nicola Hume placed 12th in the girls’ 29er, while Tessa Clinton and Jess Handley finished 14th in the girls’ 420. Cam Brown and Alex Norman ended in 17th despite a strong start in the boys’ 420.
Bella Jenkins and Nicola Hume finished 12th in the girls' 29er. Photos / World Sailing
Chloe Turner (girls’ ILCA 6), Jack Parr (boys’ windfoil), and Sofia Currie (girls’ windfoil) all finished just outside the top 20.
"As always, the youth worlds were an unforgettable experience for the sailors and a significant milestone in their sailing careers," said Yachting New Zealand’s talent development manager, Geoff Woolley.
"Unfortunately, the well-known Garda breezes were very inconsistent. We had an uncharacteristically light and shifty regatta, with winds under 12 knots throughout. While the results weren’t what we had hoped for, a positive outcome was that many of the younger team members performed at or above expectations, showing significant potential for the next two years.
"Several of them were competing in their first major international youth regattas and have taken a lot out of this experience."
Woolley praised Stibbe’s efforts, with the 18-year-old Dunedin native also winning silver at the Kiel Week in Germany, just two weeks before the start of the youth worlds.
"Zach has worked hard over the past two years, had a well-structured training programme, and gained valuable experience in Europe at high-quality warm-up events," Woolley said.
"He also received excellent support throughout his preparation in New Zealand, training with the ILCA 6 squad under the guidance of Andrew Murdoch, Tom Saunders, and George Gautrey."
Turner, who is still only 15 and began sailing the ILCA 6 earlier this year, is progressing well. Clinton and Handley, along with Jenkins and Hume, also showed promise given their limited time together in the boat.
Hugo Wigglesworth on the way to his seventh in the boys' kitefoil. Photos / World Sailing
Preparations are already underway for next year’s event in Vilamoura, Portugal.
These include the upcoming Aon girls clinic, a series of regional clinics in Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, the season-opening national Aon youth clinic in October, as well as the four-day live-in national clinic at Manly in December.
"There are 15 months left until the next youth worlds with a lot of hard work required," Woolley said.
"We are looking forward to a busy domestic season and putting the hours in on the water. We have a group of world-class coaches in place, many with recent Olympic experience in the Paris 2024 cycle."
It’s been encouraging to see more of the country's junior and youth sailors gaining valuable experience at major international events, Woolley added.
"We’ve seen a good group of Optimist and O'pen Skiff sailors competing and achieving some excellent results, and we look forward to them moving into the youth classes over the next year."
Final results and standings at the 2024 youth sailing world championships in Lake Garda, Italy:
Boys' ILCA 6 fleet (62 boats)
1. Antonio Pascali (Ita) (54) 3 2 5 36 1 1 8 7 - 63 pts
2. Hidde Schraffordt (Ned) 1 12 4 8 18 (44) 7 6 19 - 75 pts
3. Weka Bhanubandh (Tha) 22 (31) 15 11 19 7 6 1 2 - 83 pts
5. Zach Stibbe (NZ) 6 6 13 7 (29) 21 2 26 9 - 90 pts
Girls' ILCA 6 fleet (53 boats)
1. Maria Vittoria Arseni (Ita) 3 6 1 2 (18) 12 2 3 4 - 33 pts
2. Hermionie Ghicas (Gre) 1 3 8 10 1 (17) 13 4 6 - 46 pts
3. Isabella Mendoza Cabezas (USA) 4 24 3 15 4 9 19 (29) 3 - 81 pts
23. Chloe Turner (NZ) 18 18 20 12 (44) 11 36 25 29 - 169 pts
Boys' 420 fleet (24 boats)
1. Lisa Vucetti/Vittorio Bonifacio (Ita) 1 1 2 (14) 4 4 1 9 1 - 23 pts
2. Colin Postel/Théo Henry (Fra) 2 10 5 1 10 (25DSQ) 4 3 3 - 38 pts
3. Miguel Padrón Ferrer/Luis Mesa Oliver (ESP) 3 5 (19) 9 11 9 2 5 4 - 48 pts
17. Cam Brown/Alex Norman (NZ) 6 14 11 12 6 18 16 (21) 20 - 103 pts
Girls' 420 fleet (19 boats)
1. Danai Giannouli/Iakovina Kerkezou 2 1 (7) 1 1 1 3 3 2 - 14 pts
2. Nicola Sadler Keen/Sofía Cavaco Torres (ESP) 5 6 5 4 (13) 7 9 8 3 - 47 pts
3. Zeynep Çaçur/Zeynep Köy (Tur) 11 (16) 6 6 15 3 2 1 5 - 49 pts
14. Tessa Clinton/Jessica Handley (NZ) 7 (20DSQ) 20UFD 11 8 8 7 10 14 - 85 pts
Boy's 29er fleet (29 boats)
1. Ewa Lewandowska/Krzysztof Krolik(Pol) 1 10 1 1 2 1 3 15 8 3 13 (17) 2 - 60 pts
2. Finian Morris/Charlie Gran (GBR) 13 2 3 6 4 3 10 4 1 (19) 3 9 10 - 68 pts
3. Jocelyn le Goff/Jules Vidor (Fra) 9 11 9 5 9 12 6 2 2 4 (21) 13 1 - 83 pts
10. Will Leech/Sean Kensington (NZ) 3 6 4 3 12 (30UFD) 12 20 23 20 6 21 9 - 139 pts
Girls' 29er fleet (24 boats)
1. Alicja Dampc/Alicja Tutkowska (Pol) 11 15 (16) 6 1 4 2 7 1 2 5 1 2 - 57 pts
2. Una Heinilä/Silja-Sophie Laukkanen (Fin) 12 6 11 11 3 10 (23) 3 14 1 1 7 5 - 84 pts
3. Annie Sitzmann/Molly Bonham (USA) 5 (17) 6 5 2 9 17 6 6 7 2 13 14 - 92 pts
12. Bella Jenkins/Nicola Hume (NZ) 9 10 7 (21) 14 16 6 18 4 13 16 6 6 - 125 pts
Boys' windfoil fleet (38 boards)
1. Federico Pilloni (Ita) 1 (3) (25) 3 1 (5) 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 3 1 - 24 pts
2. Igor Lewinski (Pol) 3 3 (41DSQ) (13) 10 (12) 9 12 8 2 8 3 2 3 1 5 1 - 70 pts
3. Makani Andrews (USA) 5 9 7 1 (11) 9 (13) 5 11 4 2 8 1 (13) 5 5 5 - 77 pts
23. Jack Parr (NZ) 19 21 17 (28) 25 11 19 20 18 16 20 18 19 (41BFD) (41BFD) 19 - 267 pts
Girls' windfoil fleet (26 boards)
1.Carola Colasanto (Ita) 1 1 1 1 1 1 (4) 1 (15) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 (3) 1 - 15 pts
2. Darcey Shaw (GBR) 1 (3) 1 1 2 2 1 (3) 1 2 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 (5) - 24 pts
3. Sofia Hamalainen (Fin) 3 3 3 (9) 3 (7) 3 2 (29DNF) 3 4 2 3 3 3 7 3 3 - 48 pts
23. Sofia Currie (NZ) 23 21 19 19 19 (27DNF) 22 23 (29DNC) (27DNF) 27DNF 23 27DNF 27DNC 27DNF 23 23 21 - 344 pts
Boys' kitefoil fleet (14 boards)
1. Lucas Pes Fonseca (Bra) 1 1 2 1 1 (4) 2 1 2 1 (15DNF) 1 2 1 1 2 3 (4) - 22 pts
2. Gian Andrea Stragiotti (Sui) 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 (15DSQ) (6STP) 2 1 2 1 (3) 2 1 2 1 - 23 pts
3. Nell de Jaham (Fra) 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 (5) 1 3 2 (15DNF) (5) 2 4 3 1 3 - 39 pts
7. Hugo Wigglesworth (NZ) 7 (8) (8) 7 (9) 6 6 6 7 7 5 6 7 6 7 7 7 6 - 97 pts
Full results here.
