SailGP’s dedicated community outreach youth program, Inspire, is coming to the UAE for the first time as part of the Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas.
Housed at the all-new P&O Marinas Water Sport & Sailing Academy at Mina Rashid and supported by the Dubai Off-Shore Sailing Club (DOSC), the program aims to provide life-changing opportunities for young people with a diverse range of backgrounds through its Learning, Careers and Racing programs.
Having reached over 10,000 young minds since its inception, the Inspire program – SailGP’s gender-balanced youth and community engagement program – comes to the UAE. It will see more than 500 students, aged between 9-15, participate in both on-shore and water-based learning activities, designed to captivate and educate across STEM Education modules.
Giving youngsters the chance to learn from SailGP’s awe-inspiring athletes, and educating them on the sustainable side of watersports, the program has been specifically developed to embody SailGP’s core principle of being powered by nature and will engage students in activities which are linked to wind, water, sun, and earth.
With only one month to go until SailGP hits Dubai’s shores, students participating in Inspire Learning will have the chance to build wind turbines, challenge the concept of buoyancy, and be introduced to sailing on RS21 boats. Registered schools and students can take part in the program for free.
Within the program, Inspire Careers will allow young people to work alongside SailGP professionals, joining various departments — ranging from hydraulics and shore team crew, to sustainability and hospitality – to witness the masters in action. From 9-13 November, The WASZP Training Clinics will give more than 30 youth sailors the opportunity to try foiling and learn how to fly for the first time, testing their skills at high-performance sailing alongside professional coaches.
The Inspire Racing program also gives nine mixed teams of female and male sailors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take center stage and race RS Feva boats in front of the crowds over the SailGP weekend.
Hamza Mustafa, COO of P&O Marinas, said: “Hosting a unique brand of racing like SailGP at Mina Rashid is a great honor. And it is a pleasure to share it with the youth of the UAE, opening up a new and exciting world for our youngsters through our Water Sport & Sailing Academy.”
Inspire is founded on a pioneering three-pronged strategy – Learning, Careers, and Racing – intertwined with its Adopt-a-Club program, which focuses on new opportunities and skills development beneficial to all youth, from all walks of life.
As part of SailGP’s ongoing expansion of community partnerships, the Adopt-a-Club program will also come to Dubai, in collaboration with DOSC. DOSC members will be matched with the SailGP F50 Teams and invited to a behind-the-scenes Technical Tour of the Team bases, where they will meet their adopting team athletes and get up close to the high-speed hydrofoiling catamaran known as the F50s. The group pairings will then represent the nine competing SailGP teams as they race over the SailGP weekend.
The Inspire sessions will take place at the brand-new P&O Marinas’ Water Sport and Sailing Academy at Mina Rashid, close to where the SailGP action will take place that weekend, November 12-13. A detailed worksheet and entry guidelines can be found online at www.sailgp.com
Tickets are now on sale for the first Dubai Sail Grand Prix – to be held at Mina Rashid in the heart of Old Dubai – on November 12 and 13, 2022, in partnership with P&O Marinas, Dubai Sports Council and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
Fans should head to SailGP.com/Dubai to get more details and purchase tickets.
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