K-Challenge welcomes NextWorld Philanthropies as partner for the Women Pathway Program
by America's Cup media 14 Jan 2023 07:21 PST
NextWorld, Manon Audinet managing flight control - SailGP FRA - Singapore © Ian Walton for SailGP
- With the K-Challenge Women Pathway Program, K-Challenge, the first positive-impact sport-tech company involved in elite sailing competition, commits to a training programme for women across all areas of elite competitive sailing, including the GC32, SailGP, Youth America's Cup, and the Women America's Cup.
- NextWorld Philanthropies is an American private foundation co-founded by Julie and Sébastien Lépinard, a French family residing in San Francisco. As the inaugural partner of the training programme, they have committed support for three years.
The K-Challenge Women Pathway Program
The K-Challenge Women Pathway Program is designed to promote equal access for women to the highest levels of competitive sailing. Although the sport of sailing allows men and women to compete together with equal opportunity to win, the systematic identification, preparation, and training of female talent is still not at the level of their male counterparts. The programme will include scouting, participating in international competition, mentoring, training and project management.
The K-Challenge Women Pathway Program is a collaboration among K-Challenge, the French Sailing Federation, the Fondation du Sport, and the Association Team France-Filières d'Excellence. Through several high-level regatta circuits, including SailGP, the America's Cup, Women's America's Cup, Youth America's Cup, and the GC32, women will compete and participate in roles both on the water and ashore.
K-Challenge has been working alongside the French SailGP team where women such as Amélie Riou and Manon Audinet have been integral members of the team led by Quentin Delapierre, since 2020.
Quotes:
Mr. Sébastien LEPINARD (NextWorld Co-founder): "One of the societal priorities of NextWorld and NextWorld Philanthropies is to ensure gender equality, including opportunities in sport. The K-Challenge Women Pathway Program philosophy is similar to our own: to achieve the most ambitious goals by advancing our society on important social and environmental issues. We are delighted to be associated with this endeavour, and to learn and contribute as much as possible to its success."
Mr. Stéphan KANDLER (K-Challenge Founder and CEO): "Women's place in our sport has been a major consideration for K-Challenge since its creation in 2001. With the nomination of Dawn Riley as Team Manager in 2001, we were already pioneers at the elite level with spectacular results, including victory in the One Ton Cup, and integration of women in all positions on the Corel45, and the Louis Vuitton Trophy and America's Cup teams. With our K-Challenge Women Pathway Program, we seek to go even further. We are delighted to welcome NextWorld Philanthropies as our first partner. Their commitment over three years is a real boost for the teams working on this programme."
Mr. Bruno DUBOIS (K-Challenge Co-partner and COO): "Stéphan Kandler and I share the same vision on this subject. Enabling women and young people to express their talent on an equal footing is one of K-Challenge's key missions. Over the past two years, we have set up several initiatives within our French SailGP team. Now we will be able to develop these efforts as part of an even more important programme thanks to the support of NextWorld Philanthropies whose philosophy resonates with our values."