Mackenzie Cooper, the Bermudian sailor, is preparing to try and claim a spot on the team that will represent Bermuda in the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup.

A video was posted this week announcing Bermuda were forming a team of 19-24 year olds to fly their country’s flag in the prestigious event.

Cooper, a student at St Mary’s College in Maryland, is excited for the opportunity to take his sailing experience to the world stage.

“I’ve seen the video, looked into it a little bit more and it’s pretty amazing,” Cooper said. “Before, it was potentially an opportunity, now it’s going to happen, which is totally different.

“The thinking changes from ‘wouldn’t that be cool’ to ‘what do I have to do now to compete and take part in this.’ Absolutely I’m putting my name forward to be involved.”

The experience is a new one even for an experienced sailor such as Cooper, who describes the AC45 catamarans used for racing as “not even close to the sailing that I’ve done before.”

“Firstly I think the difference between the sailing that I’ve done and a lot of Bermudians have done compared to this is that you’re not just a sailor any more, you’re a sailing athlete.

“The whole fitness side of things has immediately hit. Now is the time to start getting on a programme of working out, and figuring out a way to find a boat that is going to give me the best sort of experience to take into the bigger boats.”

The team is searching for Bermuda’s best athletes from all sports who can be honed into “sailor-athletes” over the next few years, with notable athletes such as Tyler Butterfield, Roy-Allan Burch, Nakhi Wells, and Reggie Lambe voicing their support.

“I think it is a necessity because some of the sailors in Bermuda aren’t the biggest or strongest, even if we all start getting on great workout programmes,” added Cooper, well-built at 6’4” and 210 pounds.

“I think this is a huge opportunity for someone who thinks sailing is cool, or the America’s Cup is cool, to take part and use what they have to take part in this.”

While more experienced sailors would fit into positions such as skipper and wing-trimmer, top athletes are needed at positions such as grinder.

“Grinders, especially need to be big strong guys. The grinding is not as sailing oriented in that position,” Cooper said.

Team Oracle, who will come to Bermuda seeking their third consecutive America’s Cup title, feature a triathlete-turned sailor who’s athletic abilities in a different discipline propelled him to the top of the sport.

Blythe Walker and Glenn Astwood are two committee members who will take on the role of coaching the athletes in the time leading up to the event.

“I haven’t worked with either Glenn or Blythe before but I think the good thing about them is that they have done sailing outside of Bermuda, and they’re very Bermuda oriented as well,” Cooper added.

“They know, even though we have a lot of talent here, what our limitations are, and what it takes to compete at a higher level outside of Bermuda.

“Even though nobody in Bermuda has done a high-performance boat like these, they know in terms of talent, and where we have come from, they are spot on in terms of being able to judge in that regard.”