Marlow Ropes engage youth sailors during SailGP Season 2 with Inspire Program

Young sailors learn the fundamentals of sailing in the SailGP Inspire program © Austin Wong for SailGP

Marlow Ropes is pleased to announce its partnership, as Official Rope Supplier, with SailGP's Inspire Program - the global league's community, education and outreach initiative - which relaunches in Bermuda at the opening event of SailGP Season 2 on April 24-25, 2021.

The Inspire Program aims to leave a lasting legacy in all eight grand prix host countries in 2021-22 through an engaging Learning, Careers and Racing program for young people in sailing communities and schools. SailGP Inspire will serve a leading role in promoting diversity in the sport of sailing and in building a sustainable sport, targeting 10,000 young people by 2025.

The Inspire Careers program will begin in Bermuda with a series of remote webinars taught by the leading professionals at SailGP. This will open the doors to young people across the league's host venues who are interested in pursuing various opportunities within the sailing and the maritime world. They include rigging, boat building, photography and videography. Marlow Ropes are pleased to be supporting the practical rigging program at each host venue, with the provision of rope and splicing resources for students to learn the importance of rigging and splicing, including how to make a soft shackle and diamond knot. The candidates will be left with a challenge to splice a Jib loop for the F50 catamaran and, if it passes load testing, will have their handiwork onboard one of the F50s.

SailGP Inspire will also run a series of sustainable STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning activities called the Inspire elements, that will focus on how SailGP is powered by nature. Learning will relate to four key elements: water, wind, sun and earth and, as part of these learning pillars, will highlight some of the incredible efficiencies of the F50 as well as explaining the process of turning used plastic water bottles into the Blue Ocean Dockline.

Leisure Marine Director Paul Honess said: "As Official Rope Supplier to the entire SailGP fleet, we are looking forward to the high performance racing. Being involved in the SailGP Inspire Program is a highlight for Marlow as part of this relationship. Educating and engaging with youth sailors and sharing our technical knowledge is a big part of our ethos and something we are proud to be able to support."

SailGP youth program manager Tom Herbert-Evans said: "We recognize the unique position we are in to be able to use our platform to champion diversity and inclusivity and help drive meaningful change in our sport. Through Inspire, we want to start the ripple effect and give each participant that career boost to propel them into the industry. I hope that we will see some future SailGP employees starting within this partnership."

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ABOUT SAILGP // SailGP is racing redefined, powered by nature and driven by purpose. Established in 2018 and headquartered in London and New York, SailGP is an annual, global sports championship featuring bold, cutting-edge technology and awe-inspiring athleticism. The fan-centric, inshore racing takes place in some of the most iconic harbors around the globe and offers the sport's largest monetary prize of $1 million. Rival national teams battle it out in identical supercharged F50 catamarans, engineered for intense racing at electrifying speeds exceeding 50 knots (nearly 60 mph/100 kph). Visit SailGP.com for more information.

ABOUT SAILGP INSPIRE // SailGP Inspire, a first-of-its-kind global youth sailing and career program is used as a force for good and a tool to develop life-long skills. Through Inspire's three distinct programs - Learning, Careers, and Racing - SailGP is able to build a future for youth through sustainable sport. Inspiring climate advocacy and a diversified approach to sports and professional pathways; clean energy and accessibility to sailing are key to making progress, globally. Helping to deliver the program is a group of like-minded partners, including RS Sailing, WASZP, Rooster, MarkSetBot, World Sailing Trust, ePropulsion, Doyle sails and Marlow Ropes, who, combined, provide the technology and equipment to help make SailGP Inspire possible both on and off the water. Visit SailGP.com/Inspire for more information.