Belmont's Sarah Hoffman will fly the sail for women in Australia's bid for America's Cup glory this year.
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Miss Hoffman, 21, was named at the weekend in a team of 13 to contest the Cup's women and youth events in Barcelona in September and October.
Miss Hoffman, the youngest female member of the team, is aiming for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A big step towards this goal is to perform well in Barcelona.
It's the first time the America's Cup - contested every four years - will have a women's event.
"When I was a little girl we didn't have this to look up to," said Miss Hoffman, who is studying law at University of Newcastle.
"To be part of this and show the next generation what we can do is really special."
She was attracted to sailing due to the "combination of mental and physical demands".
"It's challenging to be out on the water doing something quite technical and going fast - these boats go up to almost 100km/h."
James Griffiths, commodore of Belmont 16ft Sailing Club, said it was "fantastic" the America's Cup was holding a women's event.
"They've come to their senses and realised it's 2024 and it's vital to have gender equity," Mr Griffiths said.
"It's a huge honour for Sarah to be chosen in the team."
He said Belmont had long sought to "achieve gender diversity".
"In our junior ranks of a Saturday morning, we have equal participation for boys and girls."
Belmont was a "strong supporter of the SheSails campaign", which Australian Sailing established to celebrate women.
"We have a committee that focuses on female participation exclusively," he said.
Miss Hoffman, started sailing competitively at Belmont at age seven.
At 11, she competed at state and national championships.
She went on to represent Australia at 16 and began her bid to make the Olympics two years later.
"The lake is the perfect place to start sailing. It's a good place to learn how the breeze and weather systems work," she said.
Mr Griffiths said Belmont had long been a hotspot for sailing talent.
"We have multiple Olympians and world champions," he said.
America's Cup winning skipper and campaign patron John Bertrand said "Barcelona is going to be a big deal".
"I believe this project is of national importance. Our young athletes are red-hot the way they come together," Mr Bertrand said.
America's Cup regatta director Iain Murray said "we want to bring the young sailors on and get them experience".
Mr Murray said Australia was "at the top of the wave and we've got to paddle like hell".
"We're showing we're serious as a sailing country again," the Sydney to Hobart veteran said.
In Barcelona, the two Australian teams will compete against host nation Spain, cup holder New Zealand, the UK, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, USA and France.
The youth regatta will be held in September, followed by the women's regatta and main race in October.
