The US Youth Team includes the “US Sailing Youth National Team” and the “US Sailing Youth Worlds Team” and welcomes athletes under age 19 in the following classes: 29er, i420, Nacra 15, ILCA 6, iQFOiL, and Formula Kite
US SAILING
YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM
The US Sailing Youth National Team is composed of the top American youth athletes, under age 19, in the Youth Worlds Classes (iQFOiL, Formula Kite, ILCA 6, Nacra 15, 29er, and i420). Up to 74 athletes are named to the team annually, with selection procedures updated and revised on an annual basis. As described below, athletes may qualify for the Youth National Team based on performance at qualifying events.
2026 US Sailing Youth National Team Selection Procedure
-posted December 11, 2025
2026 Contract Coach Application - US Youth Team Events
-posted December 12, 2025
| SINGLEHANDED CLASSES | DOUBLEHANDED CLASSES | ||||
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| iQFOiL | ILCA 6 | Formula Kite | Nacra 15 | 29er | i420 |
| Up to 4 Athletes | Up to 20 Athletes | Up to 4 Athletes | Up to 12 Athletes | Up to 16 Athletes | Up to 16 Athletes |
| Top 2 Females Top 2 Males |
Top 10 Females Top 10 Males |
Top 2 Females Top 2 Males |
Top 6 Teams | Top 4 Male/Mixed Teams Top 4 Female Teams |
Top 4 Male/Mixed Teams Top 4 Female Teams |
2026 Youth Team Qualifiers, Training Camps, Events
| ILCA 6 | Formula Kite | iQFOiL | Nacra 15 | 29er | i420 | |
| National Team Qualifiers | ILCA Midwinters East, Feb 19-22, Miami, FL | Long Beach OCR, July 13-16, Long Beach, CA, | iQ Midwinters East, Feb 14-15, Clearwater, FL | Lauderdale OCR, Jan 17-19, Fort Lauderdale, FL | 29er Mids East / Helly Hansen Regatta Series, Feb 13-15, St Petersburg, FL | i420 Midwinters East, Feb 14-16, Miami, FL |
| ILCA MidWinters West, Mar 20-22, Newport Beach, CA | iQ North Americans, July 25-27, Long Beach, CA | Helly Hansen Regatta Series, Feb 13-15, St Petersburg, FL | 29er Midwinters West, Mar 20-22, Long Beach, CA | i420 Midwinters West, Mar 20-22, Long Beach, CA | ||
| Training Camp(s) | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI | National Team Training Camp, June 12-17, Bristol, RI |
| Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | Thanksgiving Training Camp, November 21-24, Miami, FL | |
| Class World Championships Coached by US Sailing | ILCA 6 Youth World Championship, August 11-18, Aarhus, Denmark | 29er World Championship, July 2-9, Kiel, Germany | ||||
| Youth Worlds Team Qualifier | U.S. Youth Championship, October 9-12, Long Beach, CA | U.S. Youth Championship, October 9-12, Long Beach, CA | U.S. Youth Championship, October 9-12, Long Beach, CA | Event TBD - Fall 2026 | U.S. Youth Championship, October 9-12, Long Beach, CA | U.S. Youth Championship, October 9-12, Long Beach, CA |
| Youth World Championship | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal | Youth World Sailing Championship, December, Portugal |
2025 US Sailing Youth National Team
ILCA 6
- Jacob Artof (Westlake Village, CA)
- Davide Bazzoni (Miami, FL)
- Kaitlyn Beaver (Kirkland, WA)
- Kyla Benesch (Coconut Grove, FL)
- Nissana Berman (Chicago, IL)
- Gabriela Cerbino Mascarenhas (Key Biscayne, FL)
- David Coates (Miami, FL)*
- Arabella Duer (Beaufort, SC)
- Taylor Escola (Santa Barbara, CA)
- Jason Folvig (Sarasota, FL)
- John Hartney (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Jake Homberger (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
- Alders Kulynych-Irvin (Annapolis, MD)
- Timothy Liu (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
- Louise Martin (Charleston, SC)*
- Maddie Nichols (Corona del Mar, CA)
- Siena Nichols (Corona del Mar, CA)
- Oscar Parzen (San Diego, CA)
- James Pine (Mt Pleasant, SC)
- Nathan Pine (Mt Pleasant, SC)
- Landon Stahl (Huntington Beach, CA)
i420
- Nicholas Anders (San Francisco, CA)
- Pierpaolo Baldassari (Washington, DC)
- Helena Borcherding (Greenwich, CT)
- Harrison Gandy (Rye, NY)*
- Julia Getter (Newport Beach, CA)
- Carly Kieding (Santa Barbara, CA)
- Alexandra Kolaya (Coral Gables, FL)*
- Sara Komaroff (Larchmont, NY)
- Ava McAliley (Miami, FL)
- Reid Packard (New York, NY)
- JP Panebianco (Huntington Beach, CA)*
- Jacob Posner (Seattle, WA)
- Marin Redmond (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Genevieve Schmidt (Stuart, FL)
- Richard Sykes (Old Greenwich, CT)
- Annie Ulmer (Miami, FL)
- Elizabeth Xydas (Madison, NJ)* Also qualified in the iQFOiL
Nacra 15
- Matilda Niemann (Madison, WI)
- Sophie Niemann (Madison, WI)
- Brooke Mertz (Parkland, FL)
- Connor Mertz (Parkland, FL)
- Tom Seibold (Tampa, FL)
- Rosie Simpson (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Casey Small (Houston, TX)*
- Bennett Tobey (New Port Richey, FL)
- Dylan Tomko (Canyon Lake, TX)*
29er
- Maribelle Barelli (San Diego, CA)
- Olympia Barelli (San Diego, CA)
- Molly Bonham (Annapolis, MD)
- Isabella Cason (Coronado, CA)
- Kevin Cason (Coronado, CA)*
- August Felgenhauer (San Diego, CA)
- Sean Kaseburg (San Diego, CA)
- Wesley LaRue (San Diego, CA)
- Wyatt Lipp (Charleston, SC)
- Braden Ozarski (San Diego, CA)
- Kylie Peterson (San Diego, CA)
- Annie Sitzmann (Severna Park, MD)
- Wylder Smith (Guilford, CT)
- Julia Stewart (San Diego, CA)
- Holland Vierling (San Diego, CA)*
iQFOiL
- Emma Ball (Honolulu, HI)
- Graceanna Dixon (Fort Lauderdale, FL)*
- Garrett January (Belleair, FL)*
- Hunter Schardt (Belleair, FL)
- Elizabeth Xydas (Madison, NJ) Also qualified in the i420
Formula Kite
- Molly O'Brien (Ocean City, NJ)*
- Quincy Radkowski (Sausalito, CA)*
- Henry Vare (Belvedere, CA)
*denotes 2025 US Sailing Youth Worlds Team
US SAILING
YOUTH WORLDS TEAM
The Youth Sailing World Championship is the premier event in international youth sailing, now in its 55th edition set to take place in Vilamoura, Portugal December 11-19, 2026. Athletes from 70 countries will go head to head in one of the most prestigious regattas that has produced many Olympians and Olympic medalists.
The US Sailing Youth Worlds Team will consist of one entry per class, totaling 16 athletes across the 6 disciplines.
YOUTH WORLDS SELECTION PROCEDURES
29er Female
Sophie Niemann
29er Female
Matilda Niemann
29er Male/Mixed
Kevin Cason
29er Male/Mixed
Holland Vierling
i420 Female
Elizabeth Xydas
i420 Female
Alexandra Kolaya
i420 Male/Mixed
Harrison Gandy
i420 Male/Mixed
JP Panebianco
Nacra 15 Male
Dylan Tomko
Nacra 15 Female
Casey Small
ILCA 6 Female
Louise Martin
ILCA 6 Male
David Coates
iQFOiL Female
Graceanna Dixon
iQFOiL Male
Garrett January
Kite Female
Molly O'Brien
Kite Male
Quincy Radkowski
Looking for even MORE? Check out Youth Racing Central, your place to go for all things youth racing. Explore the performance pathway, check out the domestic racing calendar, get familiar with the video resources, sign up for the Youth Racing Central newsletter, and more!
JOHN PEARCE
Youth Racing Director
PHIL MULLER
Youth Performance Manager
