CREW
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Tom Slingsby OAMAge 41 | Sydney, NSW
Team Australia’s Head of Sailing Tom Slingsby is one of Australia’s most decorated sailors,
having represented the country at two Olympic Games and won Laser gold at London 2012. A
nine-time world champion and three-time World Sailor of the Year, Slingsby joined ORACLE
TEAM USA as strategist for the 2013 America’s Cup, helping engineer its historic comeback
victory over Emirates Team New Zealand. He remained with ORACLE for its defence in
Bermuda in 2017 and later worked with New York Yacht Club American Magic during its 2024
campaign. Slingsby has also skippered Australia to three SailGP championships and was
inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2023. He leads Team Australia with an
exceptional combination of campaign leadership, tactical judgement and experience across
Olympic, America’s Cup and professional foiling competition. -
Luke ParkinsonAge 36 | Fremantle, WA
Luke Parkinson is an accomplished flight controller with experience spanning three America’s
Cup campaigns and two consecutive Volvo Ocean Races. He made his first senior Cup
campaign with Artemis Racing in 2017 before joining Sir Ben Ainslie’s British challenge,
competing with INEOS TEAM UK in 2021 and INEOS Britannia in 2024. Although yet to win the
America’s Cup, Parkinson helped INEOS Britannia claim the 2024 Louis Vuitton Cup and
become the first British team in 60 years to reach the America’s Cup Match. Offshore, he sailed
every leg of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s victorious 2014–15 Volvo Ocean Race campaign before
competing with Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag in 2017–18. A SailGP champion and one of the
circuit’s most highly regarded flight controllers, he brings elite foiling, systems and round-the-
world racing experience to Team Australia. -
Jason WaterhouseAge 34 | Newport, NSW
Two-time Olympian Jason Waterhouse won silver in the mixed Nacra 17 alongside Lisa Darmanin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and returned to compete at Tokyo 2020. A four-time youth world champion, he emerged as one of Australia’s leading multihull sailors before transitioning into high-speed professional foiling. Waterhouse has been central to Australia’s three SailGP championship victories, applying his technical understanding and precise
communication in the demanding flight-controller role. While he has not previously contested a senior America’s Cup campaign, his extensive experience racing foiling catamarans provides highly relevant expertise for the modern Cup environment. Renowned for his racecraft, composure and ability to process complex information under pressure, he adds proven Olympic and championship-winning credentials to the team. -
Tash BryantAge 25 | Sydney, NSW
SailGP champion Tash Bryant is one of the leading sailors of Australia’s emerging high-performance generation. She won the 2016 Under-19 29er Youth World Championship and the 2020 Under-21 49erFX World Championship, with the latter result helping secure Australia’s Olympic quota place in the class. Bryant represented Britain’s Athena Pathway at the inaugural Puig Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024, co-helming the AC40 in the final; the team finished runner-up to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Although the women’s event was separate from the senior America’s Cup Match, it gave Bryant valuable experience racing Cup-class foiling technology under intense match-racing conditions. A strategist with Australia’s SailGP team and a trained engineer, she brings tactical speed, technical insight and elite skiff and foiling experience to Team Australia.
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Tom NeedhamAge 26 | Brisbane, QLD
Tom Needham is the 2025 JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion, winning the prestigious championship as helm of Yandoo in his first campaign and becoming its youngest-ever winning skipper. A former member of the Australian Sailing Squad, he campaigned internationally in the 49er class and was previously named Queensland Youth Sailor of the Year and Queensland Open Male Sailor of the Year. Needham represented Team Australia in the 2024 Youth America’s Cup in Barcelona, gaining direct experience aboard the high-speed AC40. While he has not yet competed in a senior America’s Cup campaign, his youth event experience provides an important foundation in Cup-style foiling and systems. An engineer who has worked within SailGP’s hydraulic and systems operations, he combines elite sailing performance with detailed technical knowledge of modern race boats.
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Sam NewtonAge 40 | Sydney, NSW
Sam Newton is an America’s Cup winner, three-time SailGP champion and one of the most successful 18ft Skiff sailors of his generation. He joined ORACLE TEAM USA in 2011 and was part of the crew that completed its remarkable comeback to win the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013. Newton remained with ORACLE for its 2017 defence in Bermuda, where the team was defeated by Emirates Team New Zealand. Raised around Sydney Harbour, he is also an eight-time JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff World Champion and has achieved major offshore success, including Sydney to Hobart line-honours and handicap victories. His strength, versatility and extensive experience aboard powerful, high-performance boats make him an important asset to Team Australia.
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Kinley FowlerAge 38 | Perth, WA
Kinley Fowler is an America’s Cup winner and three-time SailGP champion with extensive experience in match racing, foiling, grinding and flight control. He joined ORACLE TEAM USA ahead of the 2013 America’s Cup and raced as a headsail trimmer during the campaign that produced one of the greatest comebacks in international sport. Fowler remained with ORACLE for its 2017 defence in Bermuda, completing two campaigns with the American team and winning the Cup at his first attempt. Beyond the America’s Cup, he has raced internationally in the Extreme Sailing Series, M32 catamarans and SailGP, contributing to Australia’s three championship-winning seasons. His broad technical skill set and ability to perform across multiple onboard roles bring considerable depth and adaptability to Team Australia.