Team Australia have unveiled an elite Australian sailing team featuring Olympic medallists, America’s Cup winners, world champions and SailGP champions to spearhead the nation’s return to the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples in 2027.

Led by Head of Sailing Tom Slingsby OAM, the seven-strong team brings together some of the world’s most accomplished sailors across Olympic, America’s Cup, SailGP, offshore, skiff and international foiling competition.

The Australian team comprises Luke Parkinson, Tash Bryant, Tom Needham, Jason Waterhouse, Sam Newton and Kinley Fowler. It will be the first time any of the seven sailors has challenged for the America’s Cup representing Australia.

Collectively, the team brings experience from four Olympic Games appearances and nine senior America’s Cup campaigns, alongside 24 world championship titles and 13 SailGP championship titles. The line-up includes three members of ORACLE TEAM USA’s victorious 2013 America’s Cup crew - Slingsby, Newton and Fowler - as well as Olympic, offshore, skiff and international foiling champions.

The announcement follows a week-long simulator training block on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in August. The sailors tested crew combinations, communication systems and race scenarios while developing the shared decision-making required to race an AC75.

Slingsby is a two-time Olympian, London 2012 gold medallist, nine-time world champion, three-time World Sailor of the Year and three-time SailGP champion.

He is joined by two-time Olympian and Rio 2016 silver medalist Jason Waterhouse; SailGP champion and two-time age-group world champion Tash Bryant; 2025 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion Tom Needham; and three-time America’s Cup campaigner and Volvo Ocean Race winner Luke Parkinson.

Completing the team are 2013 America’s Cup winners and three-time SailGP champions Sam Newton and Kinley Fowler. Newton is also an eight-time JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion.

Tom Slingsby, Team Australia Head of Sailing, said: “It is an incredibly proud moment to announce this elite group of sailors who will represent Team Australia in our campaign for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup.

“We set out to bring together the strongest possible Australian sailing team, and I believe we have done just that. This group includes Olympic medallists, America’s Cup winners, world champions and SailGP champions, but just as importantly, every sailor has been selected for the specific qualities they can bring to an AC75 campaign.

“We have proven winners alongside some of Australia’s most exciting emerging foiling and technical talent. Each sailor brings a different strength, from racecraft and flight control to engineering, systems and campaign experience.

“Our first simulator block allowed us to test combinations, sharpen our communication and begin building the shared instincts we’ll need aboard the AC75. We made strong progress, but selection is only the beginning. There is an enormous amount of work ahead to ensure we represent Australia at our very best.”

For the first time in America’s Cup history, each AC75 race crew must include at least one female sailor. The boats will also use battery-powered systems, placing greater emphasis on sailing skill, strategy and flight control.

Team Australia represents the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, whose challenge was accepted in May as the sixth entry for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup. Backed by John Winning jr and family, the campaign is led by Chief Executive Officer and Australia II crew member Grant Simmer, alongside Slingsby and three-time America’s Cup winner Glenn Ashby, Head of Performance and Design.

The Road to Naples for Team Australia will begin with the Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger Selection Series in May 2027, with the successful challenger progressing to face Defender Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup Match in July.

Team Australia has also confirmed Kayo Sports and Foxtel as its official Australian broadcast partners. Every race on the Road to Naples will be shown live, including the Preliminary Regattas, Challenger Selection Series, Women’s America’s Cup, Youth America’s Cup and the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup Match.

Founded in 1851, the America’s Cup is the oldest continually contested trophy in international sport and the pinnacle of international yacht racing.

Tom Slingsby OAM
Age 41  |  Sydney, NSW

Team Australia’s Head of Sailing Tom Slingsby is one of Australia’s most decorated sailors, having represented the country at two Olympic Games and won Laser gold at London 2012. A nine-time world champion and three-time World Sailor of the Year, Slingsby joined ORACLE TEAM USA as strategist for the 2013 America’s Cup, helping engineer its historic comeback victory over Emirates Team New Zealand. He remained with ORACLE for its defence in Bermuda in 2017 and later worked with New York Yacht Club American Magic during its 2024 campaign. Slingsby has also skippered Australia to three SailGP championships and was inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2023. He leads Team Australia with an exceptional combination of campaign leadership, tactical judgement and experience across Olympic, America’s Cup and professional foiling competition.

Luke Parkinson
Age 36  |  Fremantle, WA

Luke Parkinson is an accomplished flight controller with experience spanning three America’s Cup campaigns and two consecutive Volvo Ocean Races. He made his first senior Cup campaign with Artemis Racing in 2017 before joining Sir Ben Ainslie’s British challenge, competing with INEOS TEAM UK in 2021 and INEOS Britannia in 2024. Although yet to win the America’s Cup, Parkinson helped INEOS Britannia claim the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup and become the first British team in 60 years to reach the America’s Cup Match. Offshore, he sailed every leg of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s victorious 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race campaign before competing with Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag in 2017–18. A SailGP champion and one of the circuit’s most highly regarded flight controllers, he brings elite foiling, systems and round-the-world racing experience to Team Australia.

Jason Waterhouse
Age 34  |  Newport, NSW

Two-time Olympian Jason Waterhouse won silver in the mixed Nacra 17 alongside Lisa Darmanin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and returned to compete at Tokyo 2020. A four-time youth world champion, he emerged as one of Australia’s leading multihull sailors before transitioning into high-speed professional foiling. Waterhouse has been central to Australia’s three SailGP championship victories, applying his technical understanding and precise communication in the demanding flight-controller role. While he has not previously contested a senior America’s Cup campaign, his extensive experience racing foiling catamarans provides highly relevant expertise for the modern Cup environment. Renowned for his racecraft, composure and ability to process complex information under pressure, he adds proven Olympic and championship-winning credentials to the team. 

Tash Bryant
Age 25  |  Sydney, NSW

SailGP champion Tash Bryant is one of the leading sailors of Australia’s emerging high-performance generation. She won the 2016 Under-19 29er Youth World Championship and the 2020 Under-21 49erFX World Championship, with the latter result helping secure Australia’s Olympic quota place in the class. Bryant represented Britain’s Athena Pathway at the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024, co-helming the AC40 in the final; the team finished runner-up to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Although the women’s event was separate from the senior America’s Cup Match, it gave Bryant valuable experience racing Cup-class foiling technology under intense match-racing conditions. A strategist with Australia’s SailGP team and a trained engineer, she brings tactical speed, technical insight and elite skiff and foiling experience to Team Australia.

Tom Needham
Age 26  |  Brisbane, QLD

Tom Needham is the 2025 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion, winning the prestigious championship as helm of Yandoo in his first campaign and becoming its youngest-ever winning skipper. A former member of the Australian Sailing Squad, he campaigned internationally in the 49er class and was previously named Queensland Youth Sailor of the Year and Queensland Open Male Sailor of the Year. Needham represented Team Australia in the 2024 Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona, gaining direct experience aboard the high-speed AC40. While he has not yet competed in a senior America’s Cup campaign, his youth event experience provides an important foundation in Cup-style foiling and systems. An engineer who has worked within SailGP’s hydraulic and systems operations, he combines elite sailing performance with detailed technical knowledge of modern race boats.

Sam Newton
Age 40  |  Sydney, NSW

Sam Newton is an America’s Cup winner, three-time SailGP champion and one of the most successful 18ft Skiff sailors of his generation. He joined ORACLE TEAM USA in 2011 and was part of the crew that completed its remarkable comeback to win the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013. Newton remained with ORACLE for its 2017 defence in Bermuda, where the team was defeated by Emirates Team New Zealand. Raised around Sydney Harbour, he is also an eight-time JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion and has achieved major offshore success, including Sydney to Hobart line-honours and handicap victories. His strength, versatility and extensive experience aboard powerful, high-performance boats make him an important asset to Team Australia.

Kinley Fowler
Age 38 |  Perth, WA

Kinley Fowler is an America’s Cup winner and three-time SailGP champion with extensive experience in match racing, foiling, grinding and flight control. He joined ORACLE TEAM USA ahead of the 2013 America’s Cup and raced as a headsail trimmer during the campaign that produced one of the greatest comebacks in international sport. Fowler remained with ORACLE for its 2017 defence in Bermuda, completing two campaigns with the American team and winning the Cup at his first attempt. Beyond the America’s Cup, he has raced internationally in the Extreme Sailing Series, M32 catamarans and SailGP, contributing to Australia’s three championship-winning seasons. His broad technical skill set and ability to perform across multiple onboard roles bring considerable depth and adaptability to Team Australia.