Thu, October 07, 2021

Women to race men in Sail Grand Prix

Women will race against men for the first time in Sail Grand prix history this weekend.

F50s will now include six crew members enabling Women’s Pathway Programme athletes to race on board with men for the first time. Olympic sailor Hannah Mills said “I’m incredibly excited to be racing this weekend, it's a really great step forward for the female athletes to be in the thick of it, witnessing it all, getting in and helping wherever we can – tactics, strategy, and communications – I am really excited for that. The adrenaline rush is going to be massive, it already is when we do the practice racing. It's also awesome for SailGP to have a strong vision and commitment going forward for the future of women's involvement in the league, it’s very exciting and I can't wait to figure out how we can make it all happen, how we can make it a success and how I can help drive it forward.”

Eight women sailors Nina Curtis (AUS), Katja Salskov-Iversen (DEN), Amelie Riou (FRA), Hannah Mills (GBR), Sena Takano (JPN), Erica Dawson (NZL), Andrea Emone (ESP) and CJ Perez (USA) are preparing to race this weekend with their male counterparts with CEO Russell Coutts sating “It is our responsibility as a global league to ensure we create a culture and sporting championship that has gender equity. It is no secret that there is currently an experience gap among women at the top of the sport and so far this season we have embedded female athletes in each of our teams to gain vital experience. But, we recognize we have to go further to close the gap and work quicker to accelerate change, which is why we are taking this next step. It is imperative to break existing boundaries and create a more inclusive environment.”

You can read the official statement here.