Text: Quentin Mayerat
At the end of October, Alinghi Red Bull Racing put the finishing touches to the selections for the Youth & Women’s America’s Cup. The final 20 candidates were scrupulously tested by a selection committee comprising Coraline Jonet, Matías Bühler, Nils Frei, Pierre-Yves Jorand and Hans-Peter Steinacher. Among the lucky twelve (six women and six youngsters) are many names that have already made the headlines in Skippers: Arnaud Grange, previously involved in the Okalys Youth Project, Arno de Planta, Sébastien Schneiter’s 49er teammate, Marie Mazuay, runner-up in the Nacra 15, Maja Siegenthaler, who graduated in 470 in Tokyo, and Nathalie Brugger, who graduated in Rio. For all these sailors, this is the start of a huge adventure. Like the members of the AC75 team, who will be competing in the 37th America’s Cup, but in an AC40, and will be determined to carry the Swiss colors to victory. The only fly in the ointment is the controversy that arose at the end of November with the resignation of Élodie-Jane Mettraux over a financial disagreement. Élodie-Jane Mettraux criticized the Swiss syndicate for not offering the salary conditions that would enable professional female sailors to commit to the project at the level required of them. This dispute obviously raises two important issues: parity in the sailing world and sailors’ remuneration conditions. Skippers will deal with these issues in depth in its first issue of 2024.
