SailGP launches program to help young sailors experience foiling a boat
November 14, 2019
SYDNEY (LOG NEWS SERVICE)—Olympic gold medalist and SailGP Season 1 champion Tom Slingsby has helped launch an innovative new program that aims to create a pathway into high-performance sail racing. The new initiative is part of SailGP Inspire — the global racing league’s youth and community outreach arm. The newly launched program will use the new WASZP flying dinghies at SailGP events in Season 2 to help bridge the gap between youth sailing programs and professional pathways.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for young sailors to get experience on foiling boats and learn about the technology – something that is inaccessible for many young people and what we want to change with this program,” Slingsby said
The SailGP Inspire program, which will take place at a number of SailGP events in Season 2, is geared towards young competitive sailors with an interest in learning to foil.
Successful candidates will be invited to a high-performance camp with access to expertise from coaches and SailGP team members before getting the chance to race on the same waters as the SailGP F50s in front of cheering crowds – inspiring them to become the SailGP athletes of the future. To accelerate the young sailors’ development, the winner from each event will be awarded a WASZP foiling sailboat and each season a boy and a girl will also be selected to compete in the WASZP Games to offer further racing experience.
A selection panel will decide the final 16 sailors, comprising of a 50/50 gender split, that will join the program in Sydney and San Francisco.
Applications for the SailGP Inspire Racing events in Sydney and San Francisco are now open for sailors aged 20 or under at the time of the event and candidates for either of the two events can apply online at www.SailGP.com/general/Inspire.
Applications for the Sydney event will close Jan. 5, and successful candidates will be notified at the end of January. Applications for the San Francisco event close March 20 and successful applicants will be notified in mid April.
