Australian Wing Foilers Set to Race at World Sailing Championships Test Event

Australian Wing Foil Nationals © Australian Wing Foil Racing

Three Australian Wing Foil athletes will represent Australia at the World Sailing Championships Test Event in Gdynia, Poland, from 15-18 July, marking an important step in the development of the discipline ahead of the 2027 World Sailing Championships.

World Sailing has selected Wing Foil as the invited event for the 2027 World Sailing Championships, which will also be held in Gdynia next July. The decision follows a comprehensive assessment and recommendation from a World Sailing evaluation panel. The upcoming Test Event will trial a range of competition formats across the men's and women's events as part of the evaluation process.

Australian Sailing is pleased to have secured three athlete entries for the Test Event. While each nation was initially allocated one male and one female quota place, Australia was successful in securing an additional male entry from the waitlist.

Banjo Nicholson - photo © Australian Wing Foil Racing

Following a public Expression of Interest process, Emma Webb, Banjo Nicholson and Henry Myers have been selected to represent Australia. While Australian Sailing facilitated the selection process, the athletes are self-funded to attend the event.

Australian Sailing Team High Performance Director Iain Brambell said, "Emma, Banjo and Henry have earned this opportunity through their performances over the past 12 months, and this event will provide them with valuable insights into the evolving nature of Wing Foil racing. Just as importantly, it allows Australia to contribute to the ongoing development of the discipline as World Sailing works towards finalising the equipment and competition formats for the 2027 Championships."

Speaking about the significance of this initiative, Brambell shared, "It's incredibly exciting to see Wing Foil included as an invited event. The discipline has experienced remarkable growth globally in recent years and has developed into a highly competitive international racing class. Its inclusion at the Test Event and 2027 World Championships is an important recognition of that progress and a significant step forward for the sport."

Following the conclusion of the Test Event, World Sailing will open a bidding and selection process to determine the equipment and competition format that will be used for the invited Wing Foil events at the 2027 World Sailing Championships.

To finish, Brambell added, "We are proud to have Australian athletes represented at this important milestone for the sport and look forward to seeing them embrace the challenge and make the most of the experience."