Our Campaign
Rory and Tara began sailing the 470 together in early April 2026 recognizing a unique opportunity in this Olympic class. Currently, there are no established teams representing Canada in the mixed 470. With the 2028 Olympic Games approaching, we believe Canada has a realistic pathway to qualification and international competitiveness in the mixed 470. Our goal is to establish ourselves as Canada’s leading 470 team and build the experience, results, and campaign necessary to compete for a place at the Olympic Games.
The Journey
We each bring a strong and complementary sailing background to this partnership. Tara is an experienced skiff sailor who raced the 49erFX with her sister. She is the 2024 49erFX Canadian National Champion, 2024 CICSA Keelboat National Champion (skipper, UVic Sailing), and was the top Canadian finisher at both the 2023 and 2024 Junior World Championships. In 2025, she and her sister were also nominated and selected by Sail Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee to receive the Petro-Canada FACE Grant, awarded to athletes with demonstrated Olympic potential.
Rory has been sailing the 470 for the last year, building on a strong foundation in the ILCA 6 and 7 classes, where he achieved both national and international success. His results include 2023 U19 North American ILCA 6 Champion, 3x Youth Canadian or Canadian Champion and the 2023 Orange Bowl ILCA 6 Champion. He has continued his excellence into college, winning two national championships and in 2026 won the Lightning Youth World Championship. His technical consistency and racing experience complement Tara’s skiff background, creating a well-rounded and adaptable team dynamic.
Together, we believe our combined skill sets position us to be competitive in the 470 mixed dinghy class. With the support of you and the surrounding sailing community, we are confident in our ability to progress quickly. The start of our journey in 2026 provided promising results: 3rd at 470 US Nationals and 13th at the San Pedro OCR. Tara and Rory raced against the top 10 teams in the world at the San Pedro OCR, and also beat all the teams they will need to to qualify Canada and the team for the Olympic Games in the future.
Why Support Us?
An Olympic campaign takes more than a boat. International racing requires boats, equipment, sails, coaching, travel, lodging, and competition across the world. We are building a campaign designed to give us the experience and resources necessary to compete at the highest level.
We need partners who want to be part of that journey. Every donation brings us closer to our dream of the Olympic starting line.