The Youth Foiling Gold Cup 2023 started today in Miami, Florida, with Act 1 of four. The Youth Foiling Gold Cup is the successful 69F circuit reserved for under 25 sailors. It is made of four events, two in Europe and two in the USA and it ends with a Grand Final in Barcelona in November, where the best two teams of each regatta are invited to have the possibility to become the year champion. Last November in Barcelona, Team Dutch Sail won the 2022 YFGC, after a tight battle with the French of Groupe Atlantic, and they won a € 40,000 voucher to be spent on this year's circuit.
The first 2023 event, that began today and will end on Saturday, January 21st, has eight teams coming from six nations competing for the win. The Antigua Rum Runners, from Antigua and Barbuda with Rocco Falcone, Filippo Amonti and Teresa Romairone, Team Enzedder Racing, from New Zealand, with Sam Street, Andre Van Damm, Serena Woodwall and Alex Mitchel-Barker. One team from Switzerland, Alps Racing, with Lea Rabeder, Nick Zeltner and Jann Shuepbach, one team new in the circuit, coming from Argentina, Team Tres Estrellas, with Valentin and Agustin Frey, Beltran Ignacio Lepori and Lola Trueba. Then there are two teams for both Canada and USA. The Canadians are Team Volaire, with Caspar Lenz Anderson, Federico Colaninno and Lilly Rainham, and Team We CAN Foil, with Jackson Macaulay, Rachel Betschart, Andreas Steintz and Andrew Chisholm. For the USA, two teams of NYYC and the America's Cup team American Magic, one made of Kyle Navin, Sverin Gramm and Pearl Latanzi and the other made of Copper Delbridge, Cam Farraah and Kevin Rio.
The Youth Foiling Gold Cup format is exactly the same for every event. The boats are assigned daily to the teams, who need to come here just with their best sailors and only their skills and talent will make the difference as the six-pack fleet is provided by 69F. There is a first day of warm-up, followed by four days of qualifying series and then two days of knock-out final races for the best six and the last Silver Fleet races to determine the ranking for the teams from seventh below.
After Act 1 in Miami, Act 2 will take place in France, in La Grande-Motte from May 8th to the 14th, for which more than 12 teams have already signed-up. In June the Youth Foiling Gold Cup will go back to the States, in Newport, to finish on Lake Garda, in Torbole, from August 21st to the 27th. Then the YFGC Grand Final in Barcelona, venue of the 2024 America's Cup, at the beginning of November (2-5).
The conditions in Miami started out very light - as you can see from the pictures - but hopefully more sea breeze will fill in Biscayne Bay over the rest of the week.