Sailing: Liv Mackay set to race with New Zealand SailGP team for Sydney event

Liv Mackay will sail with the New Zealand SailGP team this weekend in Sydney. Photo / SailGP

Kiwi sailor Liv Mackay believes an all-female team could be in the SailGP starting box within the next few years, as the league continues to invest in the development of women.

Mackay is one of 14 female athletes involved in the competition this year, and will get her first opportunity to sail onboard during race days at the season's penultimate event in Sydney this weekend.

Initially, Covid-19 restrictions had forced the competition to limit team numbers for the Sydney event, meaning the women were not going to be able to sail. However, with some restrictions lifted, Mackay said there was no wasted time in getting them involved again.

"When Sydney announced they were getting rid of quarantine, in the first two days it was meetings about can we push this for females, and (SailGP chief) Russell (Coutts) jumped straight on board with it," Mackay said.

"I think the women's pathways programme has a lot of respect and all the CEOs are really invested in seeing it do well, so it's really exciting.

"The league is progressive and they genuinely want to make change, and I can't wait for it to all eventuate."

Female athletes got the first opportunity to sail on race days in the most recent event in Cadiz, Spain, as part of the programme which has been set up to invest in the development of women in the sport.

In Spain, it was Erica Dawson who got to experience the thrill of race day onboard the New Zealand boat, while Mackay worked with the team in a different capacity.

As the year has unfolded with the Olympics causing some disruptions to team lineups – the New Zealand team saw Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Erica Dawson, Josh Junior and Andy Maloney spend time away during the season – Mackay is one of just three members of the Kiwi crew to have attended every event on the SailGP calendar, alongside grinders Louis Sinclair and Marcus Hansen.

However, with some lineup consistency over the past few events, the New Zealanders have made big strides in their performances, particularly in making up ground on other teams during the races.

While that improvement is yet to show on the scoreboard, Mackay was hopeful that would change in Sydney this Friday and Saturday.

"The results haven't done us justice," Mackay said. "We feel like we're making really good gains off the water, so hopefully we can apply that in Sydney."

As things stand heading into the opening race day on Friday, the Kiwis sit fifth on the overall standing, with two events left in the season. After Sydney, the teams will get a few months off, before ending the campaign in the United States in late March.