SSL Team AUS – By Sailors for Sailors

THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP... IN SAILING

15 NOV - 13 DEC 2026 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Events

Upcoming

1/4 FINALS

G2 - Race 1

12:30

07 December 2026

BRAZIL

Participants

AUS

NED

EFC1

EFA2

Results

Upcoming

1/4 FINALS

G2 - Race 2

14:00

08 December 2026

BRAZIL

Participants

AUS

NED

EFC1

EFA2

Results

Upcoming

1/4 FINALS

G2 - Race 3

15:30

09 December 2026

BRAZIL

Participants

AUS

NED

EFC1

EFA2

Results

Upcoming

1/4 FINALS

G2 - Race 4

11:00

10 December 2026

BRAZIL

Participants

AUS

NED

EFC1

EFA2

Results

See All Races

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TEAM BOXING KANGAROO

Esprit de Corps

There is no image more important to sailing in Australia than the Boxing Kangaroo Flag. The green and gold battle flag with the red gloves is both etched into the minds of all, and imbued into the very spirit with which Australians race all over the world, from Olympics to America’s Cup, SailGP to Round The World events, as well as adventurers chasing records or doing it because no one else has. In fact it is now the ‘battle flag’ for Australia’s entire Olympic team.

The origins of the famous flag go back to the last century where it certainly was a real battle flag for Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Australian Navy servicemen. The colorful one we know today, with the prominent red gloves and eyes, came about as a result of it being displayed at O’Briens bar in Thames Street in Newport.

The Skipper of Australia II happened to see it, and immediately commissioned a large one for the forestay of the 12m. It, and the Men At Work tune, ‘Land Down Under’, would unite the country like never before. This was all paid for by the soon-to-be famous crew, for the General Manager of the campaign had no time for such frivolous expenditure. Subsequently, all Australians thank them eternally for that marvelous gesture.

So whilst the concept was not originated in Newport in 1983, this current version commissioned by Warren Jones, and then enhanced by the brilliant sail makers of that campaign, Rhode Island is certainly where the ‘BKF’ came to prominence. It is now synonymous with winning, from the Olympics to seemingly every sporting endeavor that Australians are involved in.

Interestingly, one of Australia II’s crew, John Longley AM, visited Newport in 2010 and went to O’Briens. The original ‘BKF’ made by Australia II’s sail makers with off cuts from the green and gold of the boat’s spinnakers was still up in the rafters. Longley met up with Tom, who was still running the bar, and persuaded him to swap it for a new BKF signed by all the crew. The original, which is now very frail, was packed up and brought back to Fremantle, and donated to the Western Australian Maritime Museum. This is where the fully rigged Australia II is displayed in perpetuity.

Statistics

The Country

80.000 sailors
16.000 events
360 Clubs
160 Schools of sailing
29 Olympic medals
25.780 km of coastline

Achievements

13 Olympic gold medals
8 Olympic silver medals
8 Olympic bronze medals
1 America's CUp

SSL Ranking

SSL best ranked woman: 7
SSL best ranked man: 14
SSL nations ranking: 330

Main Events

Sydney Hobart Yacht Race
Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
Hamilton Island Race Week

1983

In 1983, Australia sailing team, skippered by John Bertrand, onboard Australia II defeated the United States of America in the America’s Cup, ending their 132-year stranglehold on the cup. This is considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sports history. The following America’s Cup was held in 1987 in Perth with Australia losing the cup.

The captain

JOHN BERTRAND

He is a two-time Olympian in the Finn, achieving a Bronze Medal at the Montreal Olympics of 1976. Now often referred to simply as ‘The Great Man’, John Bertrand AO was the Skipper of Australia II when that crew wrestled away the Auld Mug from the New York Yacht Club after 132 years of dominance.
Bertrand is the Chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, whose members are Australia’s sporting royalty and still very actively involved in his beloved Etchells. He won his first of two World Championships in this highly competitive class in 2010, and then his second in 2016.

The Leaders

TOM SLINGSBY

Tom Slingsby OAM has nine World Championships in no less than four very different classes, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal in the Laser. Currently, he is just one of four Australian sailors to have won both an America’s Cup, and in 2019, the four were also members of the team Australia that won the inaugural year of SailGP.

Known for being able to read the wind better than just anyone else alive, Slingsby is the consummate sailor, and possesses a focus out on the water that allows him to achieve what he sets his mind to. Slingsby is still actively involved in everything from F50 catamarans to Foiling Moths, and Etchells. To a whole new generation of sailors, Slingsby is showing just how many Australians are at the forefront of global sailing.

The crew for the Star Sailors League Gold Cup will draw heavily on Australia’s burgeoning crop of current and former Olympians, America’s Cup and SailGP stars, as well as inshore and offshore legends.

Confirmed Athletes

Captain | 10

Bow | 1

Bow | 1

Main Trimmer | 6

Mainsail Trimmer | 6

Trimmer | 3

Tactician | 9

Tactician | 9

Pit | 2

Pit | 2

Tactician | TBD

Trimmer | 7

Grinder | 4

Helm | 8

TBD | TBD

Potential Team Position

1 BOW Stuart Pollard	2 TBD Joey Newton
3 PIT Ryan Godfrey	4 GRINDER Sam Newton
5 TRIMMER Tom Burton	6 TRIMMER Will Ryan
7 MAIN TRIMMER Kyle Langford	8 HELMS Tom Slingsby
9 TACTICIAN Mathew Belcher	10 CAPTAIN John Bertrand
11 TBD Matt Wearn