You don't necessarily have to parachute out of the stratosphere to benefit from Red Bull sponsorship money. You can also take part in the Youth America's Cup on the AC45 cats. This junior event, which will take place on San Francisco Bay at the beginning of September 2013, is intended to train young talent for the America's Cup World Series and for future editions of the Cup. So far, more than 20 teams from 17 nations, including a joint team from Sailing Team Germany and the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, are interested in taking part. However, only four teams will be invited to the YAC. The two Austrian double Olympic champions in the Tornado and Extreme 40 sailors Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher will decide who will be among them and who will be invited to the elimination series at the Golden Gate next February.
"The selection of the sailors is in full swing," explained Oliver Schwall, Managing Director of the STG. "Due to the age restriction of 19 to 24 years, top sailors such as Philipp Buhl and Erik Heil from the Audi Sailing Team Germany and the German national sailing team are eligible. This challenge is a unique opportunity for our top team to develop further and gain experience. Especially with a view to Rio 2016, this can be valuable and purposeful."
The newly formed German team will be called the STG / NRV Youth Americas Cup Team, explained NRV Sports Director Klaus Lahme, who will manage the team together with Schwall. Heil as helmsman, Buhl and David Heitzig are the team members. The other team members will be determined in a casting at short notice.
As regatta boss Iain Murray explains, there are three ways to get to this event: "Firstly, prospective teams can register by joining a team that is already taking part in the America's Cup World Series. Secondly, they can buy an AC45 and register. And the third way is to apply and qualify via the elimination regatta." Also important: unlike the real AC, all sailors must have the same nationality.
Hagara and Steinacher, who have long been advertising for Red Bull and are now helping to establish this brand in the America's Cup, are therefore sent out as scouts for the applicants to be invited. They will not only scout talented youngsters, but also give them tips and tricks on how to manoeuvre an AC45 winged catamaran on the windy bay as smoothly and accident-free as possible. "This is the greatest opportunity for young sailors to get directly involved in the America's Cup," explains Hagara in the accent- and action-packed video. And his team-mate adds: "The best come to the training camp and then to the Youth America's Cup. Every team has to start on small multihulls, where they can make mistakes before venturing onto bigger boats."
The timetable
31 October 2012: Registration deadline
Beginning of November: Announcement of those participants who register via an ACWS team
Beginning of December: Announcement of the teams invited to sail in the elimination round
9 to 24 February 2013: Elimination in San Francisco
1 to 4 September 2013: Red Bull Youth America's Cup in San Francisco
More on the Event page
This article has been updated since it was published on 30 October.
