This week, the Alinghi Red Bull Racing Women’s team makes their final preparations for the Puig Women’s America’s Cup. Starting from Saturday 5th October, 12 nations will face off in the first stand-alone Women’s event in the 173-year history of the America’s Cup.

After six months of selection trials over three separate phases, Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s final roster for the Women’s squad was revealed in October 2023. Olympic sailor Nathalie Brugger, in her role as team skipper, is responsible for bringing the team’s wide range of ages and personalities onto the same page. “My job is to have an overview of the team, making sure everyone feels good, and has what they need to be ready to race.” The aim in the Qualification series is to finish in the top three and advance to the Final Series.

The sailors have come a long way since starting training in January, sailing together for the first time while learning to handle the challenges of multi-crewed boats. For some, like trimmer Anja von Allmen, it’s their first time on a foiling boat – no less than the AC40. “This is really the world stage – the highest we can go in sailing,” says von Allmen. “The way we've come here, it's been a long journey for each and every one of us. We all started out as little kids sailing somewhere where we never would have dreamt of this, and now we're here. It's incredible.”

Above winning the trophy, the team sees the Women’s event as a way of changing people’s perceptions in the America’s Cup world. Coraline Jonet, Project Manager for the Women’s team, hopes this is just the first of many competitions. “We have to give credit to the organisers for this first-ever Women’s America’s Cup, because when we see so much imbalance in the sport, we need things in place to shift it back the other way. Roughly 70 women across the 12 teams have been given that chance to train and compete at the highest level.” Not only does it provide concrete opportunities for women to progress in the sport, but a dream for the next generation to aspire to. “It’s a way for girls to see women in the spotlight, racing top-end, cutting-edge boats,” Jonet adds. “When it’s not only men on TV, it shows them that they can make it too.”