Canada has kicked Great Britain out of the top three teams leading the Impact League after topping the podium for the planet at the Spain Sail Grand Prix in Cádiz.
The team, led by Phil Robertson, was awarded 165 points, ahead of France in second with 157 and Spain, which picked up the most improved title for moving up 42 points to 155
The results mean that New Zealand sits at the top of the overall Impact League leaderboard with 926 points - a slim one point lead ahead of Denmark. Canada meanwhile has displaced Great Britain in the top three with its score of 913, while the Brits slide down to fourth with 908.
Canada was the top scoring team in six out of ten categories, including sustainability, clean energy, and food. Key highlights included the team’s shore team manager bringing his 3D scanner and printer to the event to scan multiple parts of the F50 and start printing test pieces. The goal is to replace as many single-use pieces on board with a multi-use option instead.
Elsewhere, the team picked up 43 points alone when strategist Isabella Bertold rode 1,100 km from the Range Rover France Sail Grand Prix in Saint-Tropez to Cádiz to raise awareness of ocean health.
The total prize money of $25K will be divided between the three top teams and donated to their partners. Canada picks up $13K for its partner Ocean Wise, France picks up $7K for the Energy Observer Foundation and Spain wins $5k for the Save the Med Foundation for being the most improved team.
Bertold, who is leading the team through the Impact League, said the win was a ‘collective and cumulative effort’.
She highlighted the team’s efforts to ‘minimise the on-site footprint’ across ‘energy consumption and waste production’.
“Similar to how we look at the on-water data to go faster on the racecourse, we paid careful attention to our actions and how they impact our footprint on site,” she said.
“As a team, we have learned a lot after six events, so taking the win in Cádiz was a nice way to cap off the first half of the season and a great reward for everyone's efforts. We are also excited about what the additional prize money means for Ocean Wise and our ability to further expand our collaboration with them.”
As the winning team, Canada is also awarded a Golden Crane Ticket - an on-water advantage that allows the winner of each event to adjust their crane slot assignment to suit their team’s schedule and ultimately allow for more time on the water to train.
The Impact League is measured across 10 criteria, including travel and accommodation, food, and diversity, equality and inclusion, which are aligned to SailGP’s targets to reduce its carbon footprint by 55%.
The Impact League has been simplified in Season 3 to ensure it drives maximum impact, while reducing the time taken for teams to collect and report on all criteria at every event. It is more weighted towards quantitative data, encourages collaboration and learning between teams, while aligning to SailGP's global sustainability goals and actions.
