SailGP’s debut visit to Abu Dhabi saw the league stage its largest Inspire program yet in collaboration with title partner Mubadala.
Inspire, SailGP’s community, education and outreach initiative, has so far engaged a total of 17,368 young people through its pillars of Learning, Careers and Racing.
In Abu Dhabi alone, a total of 1,000 local students aged between 9-15 from 26 schools took part in Inspire’s Learning program, which included a tour of the Tech Site and taking part in various STEM activities to learn the science behind the sport.
Meanwhile Inspire’s Careers program saw a total of 23 young professionals take part in a week of work experience within SailGP departments, such as boat building and hydraulics to sustainability and shore team roles. The individuals also had the unique opportunity to experience foiling boats and wing foiling on site.
Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi hosted the first edition of the SailGP Inspire X Mubadala Internship Exchange Program for four young professionals. These professionals took part in a week-long experience in STEM related roles in Abu Dhabi and will have the chance to repeat the experience at SailGP’s event in New York - both events are Mubadala’s title sponsor races.
Elsewhere, Inspire held a program of leisure activities within SailGP’s Race Stadium in Abu Dhabi, such as knot tying stations and grinder experiences, to showcase the sport in an interactive sport.
“We use the science behind these flying boats to inspire a new generation of thinkers, young engineers and leaders,” explained SailGP Inspire Program Senior Manager Laura Hedley.
“SailGP’s F50 catamaran is a science lab on water, it has the ability to teach youngsters about being energy efficient and we get them thinking about solving real world problems, specifically related to sustainability.”
