Sail Canada introduces its team for the 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships

The competition will be held December 15-19 in Vilamoura, Portugal

Sail Canada is proud to announce the 14-member team that is set to represent the country at the 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships to be held December 15-19 in Vilamoura, Portugal.

The 2025 Canadian Youth Sailing World Championship squad includes Canadian Sailing Team member Valentino Blewett, who took the 4th position at the 2025 iQFoil Youth & Junior European Championships in the Men’s U19 category. He is joined by Nathan Pearce, a Formula Kite racer, who will bring experience to the team at his fourth consecutive Youth Sailing World Championships, aiming to improve on last year’s 10th-place finish. The team also features a wave of new talent, with all the other members making their Youth Sailing World Championship debut, including brothers Will and Jack Keilty, who will sail together in Male/Mixed International 420.

Sail Canada’s Olympic Development Coordinator Kyle Martin from Vancouver, B.C., will serve as Team Leader. He will be supported by coaches Kevin Black (Vancouver, B.C.), Gavin Pearce (Vancouver, B.C.), Violet Stafford (Toronto, ON) and Audrey Staples (Montreal, QC).

Athletes earned their spots on the team based on performance criteria outlined in Sail Canada’s “Athlete Selection System and Requirements – World Sailing Youth World Championships 2025” document, available on the Sail Canada website.

The Youth Sailing World Championships are an important stepping stone for U19 sailors as they progress towards the Canadian Sailing Team. The event has been held annually since 1971 except for the 2020 edition, which was cancelled because of the pandemic. Among the many sailors who have competed in past editions of the Youth Sailing World Championships: Paris 2024 Olympian Georgia Lewin-LaFrance, who came up with a 6th-place finish at the 2017 edition, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Ali ten Hove, who competed in 2012 and 2013, and Luke Ramsay, who won the ILCA 6 competition in 2006 and went on to represent Canada at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. Current Canadian Sailing Team members Ryan Anderson, Annie Balasubramanian and Clara Gravely have also taken part in the event.

Canadian team members for the 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships                                                                                                                                                                            

ILCA 6 (W)

Maya Wolf (Port Moody, B.C.-WVYC)

ILCA 6 (M)

Andre Deseau (North Vancouver, B.C.-WVYC)

29er (W)

Freida Smith (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)

Laura Eisenhauer (Halifax, N.S.-Lunenburg YC/RNSYS)

29er (M/Mixed)

Averi Kuo (Victoria, B.C./RVicYC)

Theo Stolth (Sooke, B.C./RVicYC)

i420 (W)

Victoria Carroll (Halifax, N.S.-RNSYS)

Lorelai Freeman (Lunenburg, N.S.-Lunenburg YC/RNSYS)

i420 (M/Mixed)

Will Keilty (Kingston, ON-RNSYS)

Jack Keilty (Kingston, ON-RNSYS)

iQFoil (M)

Valentino Blewett (Whistler, B.C.-Whistler Sailing)

Kiteboarding (M)

Nathan Pearce (North Vancouver, B.C.-RVYC)

Nacra 15

Alvin Wang (Markham, ON-RVYC)

Kate McCarthy (Nanaimo, B.C.-Sarasota Youth Sailing)

More information can be found on Sail Canada’s website at www.sailing.ca.

By Sail Canada