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58th Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship announces 2025 Invitees
- Ken Sherb .
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 25, 2025
Entrants from Six Countries, Three of Four 2024 Semi-finalist Skippers Including Defending and World Youth MR Champion Cole Tapper (AUS);
2025 GovCup is July 29-August 3
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Eleven of the twelve skippers have received invitations to the 58th Governor’s Cup International Youth Match Racing Championship, July 29-August 3, 2025. Defending Governor’s Cup and 2024 Youth MR World Champion Cole Tapper (AUS) is the early favorite after a truly remarkable year since his “GovCup” win last year.
Tapper will be joined by Justin Callahan (USA), who finished third last year, and Callahan’s 2024 petit final opponent, Josh Hyde (NZL). Hyde, who is second behind only Tapper in the World Sailing Youth Match Racing Rankings, has also had a great year — winning, among other regattas, the under-25 Hardy Cup in Australia.
There will be three European entries. Adam Leddy (IRL), the Irish Youth Match Racing Champion; Victor Melchior (DEN), podium finisher and best youth sailor in three Open MR events in Denmark including two podium finishes; and Theo Westerlind (SWE) who will follow in his brother Marius Westerlind’s footsteps, a popular former GovCup competitor and 2022 Semi-finalist.
Callahan, Hyde and Morgan Pinckney (USA), a two-time podium finisher and #8 in the youth rankings all accepted earlier invitations. Michael Kirkman (USA), the U.S. Intercollegiate Match Racing Champion, has also accepted an invitation based on his victory in that event in late 2024.
“Choosing additional entries from among a record number of Requests for Invitation from Australia and New Zealand was tough.” said Brian Bissell, Chair of the Selection Committee (and a Governor’s Cup winner), ”We did our best to use ‘head-to-head’ records among the contenders to pick one additional Aussie and one Kiwi sailor to compete.” The Committee chose Daniel Kemp (AUS), the 3rd ranked youth world match racer and 2024 competitor and Ethan Fong (NZL), 5th on that ranking list.
As host yacht club, Balboa Yacht Club is entitled to name one representative and for the second year, Siena Nichols has accepted that invitation. The twelfth and final invitation will go to the winner of the U.S. Youth Match Racing Championship for the Rose Cup (June 25-29) also hosted by Balboa Yacht Club this year. Since Nichols is also entered in that regatta, should she win, the Rose Cup automatic berth will go instead to the Selection Committee’s first alternate selection, Julian Hill (CAN).
The Governor’s Cup, is the oldest youth (under 23 years old) match racing championship in the world and includes among its “alumni,” many of the finest sailors in the world led by two-time America’s Cup winner James Spithill (AUS), multiple Congressional Cup and World Match Racing Tour champ Taylor Canfield (USA), and America’s Cup skipper, Star World Champion and member of both the National Sailing and America’s Cup Halls of Fame, Paul Cayard (USA).
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Susan Kenney
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PHOTOS
# 1 –2024 Veterans and 2025 early invitees Morgan Pinckney (USA) (left), and Justin Callahan (USA) duke it out in a 2024 Governor’s Cup pre-start Credit: Tom Walker
# 2 – 2024 World and GovCup Champion and 2025 favorite Cole Tapper (AUS) crosses former World and two-time Governor’s Cup Champion Jeffrey Petersen (USA) in their final matches last year. Tapper erased a 0-2 deficit against Petersen to win 3-2. Credit: Tom Walker
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