There is plenty of experience in the New Zealand team named yesterday for the world youth championships.
Six of the eight sailors were in last year's silver medal-winning combination.
The team for the championships in Halifax, Canada, in July were announced after the youth nationals regatta in Taupo over Easter, the
performances at which formed part of the criteria for selection.
Kohimarama Yacht Club 18-year-old Kate O'Brien and Michael Bullot of Murrays Bay - both Herald Junior Sports Awards recipients this year - are the single-handed representatives.
O'Brien will sail a Byte and Bullot, also 18, will be in a Laser.
Bucklands Beach's Anna Eason and Devonport's Thomas Ashley are the board sailors.
Geoff Woolley and Mark Overington, from Kohimarama and Murrays Bay respectively, will form the men's double-handed team and Rachel O'Brien, 16 - Kate O'Brien's younger sister - and Kelly Riechelmann, 17, of Kohimarama will form the women's.
Woolley and Overington were in last year's team, but as part of different combinations.
They will sail 29ers in Canada, as will Riechelmann and Rachel O'Brien.
The championships include competition as individuals in each class discipline, and then the combined results of team members is aggregated for competition for the overall team trophy.
Yachting New Zealand's high-performance manager, Peter Lester, said the selection process was helped by "the wonderfully high calibre of our youth sailors".
One of the New Zealand team's main rivals is five times world youth champions France. They will also have old rivals Australia and Britain in their sights.
The championships will run from July 18-27 at Lunenberg, Halifax.
