Our names are Ben Hinks and Fallon Katz, we are 19 and 17-years old respectively. Our goal is to represent Australia at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, and/or Brisbane in 2032 in the International 470 Sailing Class.

After partnering up in the class back in late 2022 we have progressed through the class at a rapid rate. In our first season in the boat we managed to gain selection into the Australian Sailing Futures Squad after our results across the 2022/23 season. This season we have taken out the 1st mixed team at the 2024 Australian 470 Class National Championship and placed 4th at the Oceania Olympic Qualifier Event at Sail Sydney.

The Futures Program is an advanced, class specific, technical coaching program to try to improve performance alongside the state-based coaching. This program is supported not only by the local state based South Australian Sports Institute (SASI), but also the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). We are both dedicated to training hard to continually improve, working closely with our coaches, and putting in the effort with a view to gain selection into the Australian Sailing Squad, and then the Australian Sailing Team to achieve our goal of representing Australia at the Olympics.

We know that to work our way up through these Australian Sailing Pathways, we must have a campaign plan. Over the past season we have focussed on state-based training accompanied by traveling domestically, training with other Futures Program athletes in Victoria and New South Wales. We also attended domestic regattas including Sail Sydney, Sail Melbourne and the 470 Nationals to improve our skills in the class. In 2024 we will be attending the 470 Junior World Championship in Türkiye followed by the 470 Junior European Championship held in Greece. These events allow us to compete against competitors at a similar age and experience, which acts as a stepping stone into Olympic Class racing.

It has been a long time since a South Australian sailor has managed to qualify for the Australian Sailing Team and earn the opportunity to represent Australia at Olympic level. We believe that with a lot of hard work, determination, and necessary financial support, we will be able to achieve this. One of our biggest challenges will be to secure the financial support to meet all the costs of traveling to gain experience in this class, as most competition will be encountered in Europe and overseas. Hence the reason that we are seeking financial support to make this dream possible.

We are reluctantly seeking support because our families do not have the financial resources to continue to fund all our sailing expenses as sailing at this level becomes intense and expensive. Please support us by making a donation!