Yachting: Leading contenders for Auckland Match Racing Cup

Dean Barker

Emirates Team New Zealand

Nationality: New Zealander

Born: April 18, 1973

Crew: Don Cowie (main), Jared Henderson (pit) Grant Loretz (trim), Terry Hutchinson (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 18

After a career in dinghies, during which he secured several international titles and the world youth title, Barker was invited to help Team New Zealand with their preparations for the 1995 campaign. With his keelboat potential identified he later led a young Team New Zealand crew to a number of successes on the international circuit. He won the world championship of match race sailing in 2000 and has three other victories at Swedish Match Tour events.

Bertrand Pace

BMW Oracle Racing

Nationality: French

Born: August 16, 1961

Crew: Rod Dawson (main), Sean Clarkson (pit), Zac Hurst (trimmer) and Brad Webb (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 13

Pace has been match-racing since he became involved in the America's Cup in 1986. He won the match-racing world championship in 1994 and has finished runner-up two other times. Bertrand also was the first champion of the Swedish Match Tour in 2000.

Chris Dickson

BMW Oracle Racing

Nationality: New Zealander

Born: November 3, 1961.

Crew: Paul Westlake (main), Jamie Gale (pit), Robbie Naismith (trimmer), Kazuhiko Sofuku (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 40

Competing in his fifth America's Cup, Dickson was the skipper of New Zealand's first challenger, KZ-7 at 24 years old. Since then he has gone on to win three world match racing titles and three world maxi titles.

Ed Baird

Alinghi

Nationality: American

Born: May 17, 1958

Crew: Peter Evans (main), Will McCarthy (pit), Peter van Niekirk (trim), Matt Mitchell (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 2

An eight-time world champion, Baird was the sparring helmsman for Team New Zealand in 1995, and in the same year was named Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. He raced in the 1998 Whitbread Round the World Race and is the only American to have reached number one on the ISAF world match racing rankings.

Magnus Holmberg

Victory Challenge

Nationality: Swedish

Born: September 23, 1961.

ISAF World Ranking: 30

The Victory Challenge skipper placed second in the 2003-04 Swedish Match Tour. A past champion of the tour (2001), Holmberg is one of only two skippers to have placed in the top eight on the final leaderboard every year of the tour.

ALSO FEATURING ...

Ian Williams

Nationality: British

Residence: Hamble, England

Born: April 26, 1977

Crew: Mathew Stuart (main), Stu Molloy (pit), Mal Parker (trim), Sam Tucker (bow)

ISAF World Ranking: 5

Mathieu Richard

Nationality: French

Born: June 5, 1976

Crew: Greg Evrard (main), Philippe Mourniac (pit), Olivier Herledant (trimmer), Yannick Simon (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 6

Staffan Lindberg

Nationality: Finnish

Born: October 16, 1971

Crew: Emil Wiberg (main), Robert Skarp (pit), Nils Bjerkas (trimmer), Carl-Johan Uckelstam (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 10

Cameron Appleton

K-Challenge

Nationality: New Zealand

Born: January 31, 1978

ISAF World Ranking: 78

Sebastian Col

K-Challenge

Nationality: French.

Crew: Thierry Briend (main), Teva Plichart (pit), Gilles Favennec (trimmer), Christophe Andre (bow).

ISAF World Ranking: 8