The 12 sailors that will represent Alinghi Red Bull Racing in the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup next year were announced on Monday, following three phases of selection trials since April and extensive evaluations by the selection committee. The coveted roster spots provide a real opportunity to rising talents to represent Switzerland during next year’s events in Barcelona in September and October.

Barcelona, 23 October 2023– Two new crews are joining the Alinghi Red Bull Racing campaign with the addition of 12 sailors unveiled today by team officials (selected candidates listed below). They will make up the two Swiss boats competing in the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup next year. The Youth America’s Cup is scheduled for 26 September – 2 October 2024 with the Puig Women’s America’s Cup immediately following from 10-16 October 2024 interspersed with the America’s Cup. Each team features a six-person roster with four crew competing in the regattas on-board the foiling one-design AC40s.

The current Alinghi Red Bull Racing campaign features five sailors that competed in previous iterations of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in 2013 and 2017, validating the event as a springboard to the elite senior ranks of sailing. The twelve Youth & Women were chosen after comprehensive trials and evaluations by the selection committee made up of Coraline Jonet, Matías Bühler, Nils Frei, Pierre-Yves Jorand and Hans-Peter Steinacher.

“Choosing the members of these teams is about building for the future with our talented sailors,” said Jonet, project manager for the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup. “We chose a diverse group from all types of boat and racing experiences. What we liked with this group were excellent and balanced racing skills, strong team work ethic, the capacity to adapt and a huge appetite to learn and improve. We’re proud that the group represents all parts of Switzerland. This is the result of the Alinghi Generation that evolved over the past, and we’re encouraging all sailors and sailing clubs to help us build the next generation of talent.”

“The crews we selected are the result of a meticulous selection process that started this spring and took place over three phases,” said Bühler, head coach of the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup teams. “It was always about trying to find a trade-off between keeping it simple, and thinking out of the box on how to select the final candidates. But it started by defining the profiles we were seeking for these events and we believe we’ve found the best team we can build for Switzerland.”

The average ages of the three Swiss teams in 2024 will be 33-years for the America’s Cup team, 29-years for the women’s crew (that includes three women eligible for the Youth America’s Cup) and 22-years for the Youth America’s Cup squad. Following the selection trials that included a full 360 evaluation of every candidate participating, coaches now have an excellent handle on the talents and skills of the 12 sailors for the next year. A full training program will be outlined soon working both individually with each athlete and strengthening the team skills.

2024 Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup Team Selections

Women

Nathalie Brugger, 25.12.1985, Fribourg, Gstaad Yacht Club / CV Estavayer /CN Morges Marie Mazuay*, 21.05.2005, Aire-la-Ville, Club Nautique Versoix / Société Nautique de Genève Elodie-Jane Mettraux, 07.11.1984, Hyères, COYCH Hyères Maja Siegenthaler, 11.11.1992, Bern, Thunersee-Yachtclub Alexandra Stalder*, 12.07.1999, Oppeano, Circolo Vela Torbole Anja von Allmen*, 23.05.2003, Spiez, Gstaad Yacht Club / Regatta CLub Oberhofen / Yacht Club Spiez

*Eligible for the Youth America’s Cup

Youth

Andrea Aschieri, 30.11.2003, Gland, Société Nautique de Nyon

Arno de Planta, 12.03.1999, Pully, Société Nautique de Genève / Cercle de la Voile de Vidy

Arnaud Grange, 21.09.2002, Anières, Société Nautique de Genève

Morgan Lauber, 01.12.1999, Ballens, Club Nautique Morges

Joshua Richner, 05.04.2002, Courgevaux, Gstaad Yacht Club / Thunersee-Yachtclub

Jann Schüpbach, 04.12.2000, Thun, Thunersee Yachtclub / Regattaclub Oberhofen

Coraline Jonet, project manager: “Today, we’ve put two great teams together to represent Switzerland. We made sure our selection process was thorough by evaluating each of the sailors closely and individually across many criteria. We have huge respect for the other 11 teams and it's going to be a high level of competition among the world’s best in the two regattas.

These two crews will be an evolving and living project over the next 11 months and crew changes could happen, so we’ve stressed to all the candidates that it’s important that they keep training and improving as we continue to monitor the evolution of our sailors and those that were part of the selection process.”

Matías Bühler, head coach: “Now that we have ticked the box of selecting them, it's time to start the training phase. We have many ideas and plans already, but we'll dive deep in a new phase of preparation and training. It will be the second pillar of this project.

I personally feel super-motivated on what's coming next, after these long months of selections. I'm a person that believes a lot in training and preparation. It's where we, as a team, can add value. We can make a difference and move the needle where we want!

Arno de Planta, Youth sailor: “We’ve done plenty of really interesting activities last week. It was not just evaluations but talking with coaches and interacting with other team members. It’s been an amazing experience. I’m super proud to be selected and to represent Switzerland and Alinghi Red Bull Racing.”

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