Milan, 30 March 2023 – weCANfoil, powered by the Canada SailGP Team and RBR, received the prestigious award for the ‘Best Foiling Pathway Project’ at the Foiling Awards yesterday evening in Milan.
The Canada SailGP Team launched weCANfoil in spring 2022, together with the support of yacht clubs, sailing schools and numerous volunteers across the country. Over 500 youth had the opportunity to try foiling on WASZPs and NSP wing foil boards at a variety of demo days, training camps and regattas last summer and into the fall.
“Our goal was to build a pathway for youth to get into foiling, as one of the legacy projects of the Canada SailGP Team – this was the vision of our team’s founder, Fred Pye. Almost immediately, we saw that there was tremendous interest in foiling in Canada, so we are continuing to grow the program for 2023 and beyond together with our main partner, RBR. We are very grateful to RBR for their vision and commitment to the weCANfoil program, as well as the support we have from WASZP, SUPandFoil.com, Sail Canada and Oliver Solutions,” said Jean-Sébastien Chénier Proteau, CEO of the Canada SailGP Team.
The Canadian development programme was one of six international nominees, including the Athena Pathway and FIV Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Foil Academy, and was the clear winner for the best promotion of foiling at a national level.
Koray Elzer, Head of International Development for World Sailing and a representative of Vakaros were on stage to present the award in recognition of the project’s commitment to promoting foiling in Canada.
Greg Johnson, President of weCANfoil, accepted the award on behalf of the non-profit organization. “Foiling is the only form of sailing that will inspire youth (of all ages) to pursue a high adrenaline sporting activity throughout their lives. Joining forces with the Canada SailGP Team for the program in 2023 and beyond will bring increased exposure and events across the country,” said Greg Johnson, President of weCANfoil and also President of RBR, an oceanographic instrumentation company.
Looking ahead to summer 2023, Program Director Agustin Ferrario is leading the charge with a full calendar of demo days, training sessions and foiling regattas.
weCANfoil also recently announced that the 69F Foiling Youth Gold Cup will make its Canadian debut this summer in Kingston (ON), ahead of the WASZP Americas Regatta.
We CAN Foil // Powered by RBR & Canada SailGP Team
Suppliers // Oliver Solutions, SUPandFoil.com, WASZP
Race for the Future Partners // Sail Canada & Ocean Wise
CANADA SAILGP TEAM // Canada SailGP Team is one of the few independent teams in this ultra-competitive international league, having joined in May 2022 at the start of Season 3. The team has an entrepreneurial spirit, is passionate about creating opportunities in the sport for the next generation and protecting our racetrack, the ocean. SailGP.com/teams/canada/
RBR // RBR designs and manufactures deep-sea thermometers and other instruments for measuring climate change. rbr-global.com
weCANfoil // weCANfoil aims to get Canada on the water and foiling. For more information about upcoming events, please visit www.weCANfoil.org
CONTACTS //
Agustin Ferrario I Program Director I weCANfoil I agustin@wecanfoil.org
Jennifer Hall | Marketing & Media Director I Canada SailGP Team | jhall@sailgpcan.com
