SAILGP – WOMEN

Ahead of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth, a full-day Women’s Performance Session was held at SailGP Technologies. For 18 women more accustomed to racing on the water, the day was spent in the simulator sharpening skills and accelerating development.

From Olympic athletes to emerging talent, the group shared one common goal: to close the experience gap and prepare for the opportunity to compete on the F50 in whichever role they desire.

Each SailGP team now has one woman racing, most in the strategist role introduced in the league’s second season. The 2025 season marked another significant step forward, with Martine Grael becoming the league’s first female driver for Mubadala Brazil and Anna Weis joining the United States team as a full-time grinder. But the female athletes in the Women’s Performance Program have their sights set higher still – training to become wing trimmers, flight controllers and drivers, while reserve athletes build the skills required to step seamlessly into the strategist role.

So how does simulator training make such a difference?

It helps when you’re learning from world-class coaches, including NorthStar coach Joe Glanfield and wing trimmer Paul Campbell-James. Campbell-James has been a wing-trimmer for over a decade, having raced for China, Spain, the United States and Canada, and was sharing his tips and tricks for trimming the wingsail around the race track. Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay worked closely with athletes in the strategist role, and New Zealand coaches Matt Stevens and Will McKenzie rounded out the coaching team. Access to this level of knowledge is invaluable, but equally powerful is the collaboration and camaraderie between these driven and ambitious women.

The aim of simulator training is to build the playbook, muscle memory and technical skillset in a low-risk environment before stepping aboard an F50 worth millions of dollars, where a single mistake can end a race weekend. Many of the men currently competing in SailGP benefited from weeks of structured, progressive training when the league first launched. In this era, as Grael experienced, opportunities often arrive in the form of being handed the wheel and thrown straight into racing. The question has never been whether these women have the skills to compete at the highest level – it’s about ensuring that when the opportunity arrives, they’re ready.

The value in data

The session also gave athletes a window into just how powerful using data at SailGP has become. For those transitioning from Olympic or other small foiling classes, adapting to an environment where performance is measured through vast amounts of data is its own learning curve. The group spent time with SailGP Data Analyst Jake Farren-Price, who introduced the software used to analyse live and post-race performance, daily reports and the key metrics worth tracking and comparing across teams.

With performance data shared across the league, athletes have a unique opportunity to build a database of best practice by studying some of the world’s best sailors, whether analysing different wing-trimming techniques or diving deeper into strategic decision-making.

By the end of the day, the athletes had the opportunity to feed their insights back into how SailGP shapes its support for female athletes. The Women’s Performance Program isn’t static; it’s being built alongside the very women it’s designed to elevate.

Whilst there is still progress to be made before women are afforded the same opportunities as men with comparable experience, these athletes aren’t standing still. When the next seat becomes available, they are doing everything they can to ensure they’re ready to fill it.

List of Women in attendance:

• Julia Gross (Artemis)
• Felicia Fernstrom (Artemis)
• Liv Mackay (Black Foils)
• Kate Stewart (Black Foils)
• Tash Bryant (Bonds Flying Roos)
• Margaux Billy (DS Automobiles Team France)
• Anna Barth (Germany Deutsche Bank)
• Victoria Schultheis (Germany Deutsche Bank)
• Marina Arndt (Mubadala Brazil)
• Annie Haegar (Northstar)
• Ali Ten Hove (Northstar)
• Kahena Kunze (Rockwool Denmark)
• Pearl Lattanzi (Rockwool Denmark)
• Victoria Travascio (Los Gallos)
• Jana Germani (Red Bull Italy)
• Maelle Frascari (Red Bull Italy)
• Anna Weis (US SailGP Team)
• Louisa Nordstrom (US SailGP Team)