Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful female and male Olympic sailors of all time, have today announced the formation of the Athena Pathway Programme, a new pathway for female and youth sailors which aims to level the playing field in high-performance foiling sailing and bring diversity into the professional sport, with sustainability embedded in its core.
The immediate objective of the Athena Pathway Programme will be to fast-track development of female athletes into high-performance foiling sailing, including both SailGP (working closely with SailGP's Women's Pathway Program) and the America's Cup. The team has recently purchased a 26-foot 'Easy to Fly' foiling catamaran with the training base primarily based out of the 2012 Olympic Venue, WPNSA, Weymouth, UK. Initial recruits to the team include Hattie Rogers, the SailGP Inspire x WASZP champion, and Sophie Heritage, who joins the team on the shore side.
To date, the opportunity gap in professional sailing has not solely been on the water. Over the past years competing in America's Cup and SailGP, it has been clear to Ben Ainslie, who will be advising the Athena Pathway, that there's a significant amount of work to be done on the shore side too. Ainslie added:
"When we first launched our official charity, the 1851 Trust, in 2014 one of our key ambitions was to bring more diversity into the marine industry in this country. We are still doing that at the grassroots level in schools across the UK, but now, through the Athena Pathway, we hope to be able to offer significant experience and opportunities, at the highest level of our sport, to further achieve that ambition."
Fans attending Cowes Week this week will be able to see the Athena Pathway ETF26 foiling catamaran stationed near the Royal Yacht Squadron. The first opportunity to see the team race will be in the Grand Pavois Foiling Event on September 27th in La Rochelle, France
No comments:
Post a Comment