Nine sailors make YNZ Olympic Squad 2007

by Jodie Perkins, Yachting on 22 Dec 2006


Nine sailors have been named as part of the Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad for 2007. They include representatives of six of eleven Olympic classes with two Star crews making the grade.

The Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad for 2007 includes…

Barbara Kendall – Women’s RS:X Windsurfing
Tom Ashley – Men’s RS:X Windsurfing
Jo Aleh – Laser Radial, Women’s one person dinghy
Andrew Murdoch – Laser, Men’s one person dinghy
Dan Slater – Finn, Heavyweight dinghy
Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams – Star, Men’s keelboat
Rohan Lord & Miles Addy - Star, Men’s keelboat

Criteria for Olympic Squad membership, which are published on the Yachting New Zealand website, were established by Yachting New Zealand’s Olympic Director over a year ago. While the team to attend the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Qingdao, will not be announced for around twelve months, the Olympic Squad are currently the top performing Olympic class sailors in New Zealand.

Each of the individual sailors or teams has earned their place in the YNZ Olympic Squad for 2007 with high level results in international competition over the past twelve months. Their inclusion means top level support from Yachting New Zealand under Olympic Director Rod Davis and Olympic Logistics Manager, Leslie Egnot.


Yachting New Zealand Olympic Squad 2007, Background Information

Barbara Kendall – Women’s RS:X Windsurfing
Three time Olympic medallist Barbara Kendall has shown she has what it takes on the new Neil Pryde RS:X. She finished fifth overall at what was the inaugural World Championship for the new Olympic class, sailed in Riva del Garda, Italy. During the twelve race series Kendall has had two race wins and four top three finishes.

Tom Ashley – Men’s RS:X Windsurfing
Aucklander Tom Ashley narrowly missed the World Championships title this year, instead winning silver, finishing on equal points with the winner. Furthermore, 22 year old Ashley, has been in the top ten in all the major international regattas this year, including a second place at the ISAF World Sailing Games in Austria.

Jo Aleh – Laser Radial, Women’s one person dinghy
Aleh, of Kohimarama Yacht Club won a silver medal at the Olympic Test Event 2006 in Qingdao, China. She also won bronze at the Holland Regatta and was fourth at Hyeres this year.

Andrew Murdoch – Laser, Men’s one person dinghy
Andrew Murdoch placed sixth at the Laser World Championships 2006, sailed in Jeju, Korea and then in August of this year he finished third at the Olympic Test Event 2006 in Qingdao, China.

Dan Slater – Finn, Heavyweight dinghy
Slater won gold at ISAF Grade One Kiel Week 2006, and has recorded a further four top ten results in the Finn class at some of the major international regattas through 2006.

Hamish Pepper & Carl Williams – Star, Men’s keelboat
Pepper and Williams have stormed into the Star class scene in 2006 winning the World Championships, sailed in San Francisco, USA in October. They followed that incredible result with another win at the Star North American Championships. They’ve been inside the top ten in all of the major regattas this year.

Rohan Lord & Miles Addy - Star, Men’s keelboat
A sixth in at the San Francisco Star World Championships 2006 has earned Lord and Addy a spot in the YNZ Olympic Squad for 2007. It was their first regatta together in the Star, with Lord returning to the Star for the first time since 2004.

Sail-World comment:

Two crews from the 2006 YNZ Olympic Squad did not gain selection for 2007. These are the Womens Yngling crew of Sharon Ferris, Raynor Smeal and Karen Lambert; and the Tornado crew of Aaron Macintosh and Bruce Kendall.

The additions and subtractions to the YNZ Olympic Squad from that announced in October 2005 mean that New Zealand's current squad is all focussed in the single handed disciplines, plus the two man keelboat - a total of six of the 11 Olympic events.

There are no crews in the two-handed dinghy/multihull events (four events).

Only four of the nine sailors announced in the original 2006 Olympic Squad have made the cut for 2007 Olympic Squad.

Of those crews announced, five finished in the top six in their respective World Championships. Two crews finished first or first equal on point at their respective world championships. A further two achieved podium positions in the Olympic test event in Qingdao, this year.