Sailing’s governing body is considering how Olympic-class equipment is made, used and disposed of in order to make changes that will ultimately reduce its impact on the environment.
World Sailing’s Director of Sustainability, Alexandra Rickham, said this unique life cycle assessment project will give organizations the evidence they need to make smarter choices and shape the future of Olympic equipment.
“Sailing naturally has a close relationship with nature and the environment. Sailing is very much seen as a clean, green sport that takes advantage of the wind,” she said. “But the reality is that our equipment is having an impact. It’s going through some major industrial processes.”
Mr Rickham said the project could benefit not only Olympic sailing, but also the wider sailing community and other sports.
Competitive sailing, an Olympic sport since 1900, involves racing boats powered solely by wind and waves. For the 2024 Olympics, one or two crew members navigated a 17-foot (5-meter) boat along a course marked by buoys in the Bay of Marseille.
Outside of the Olympics, competitive sailors race throughout the year at local events and large-scale regattas.
Anna Barnett and John Gimson of Great Britain compete in the Nacra 17 mixed multihull sailing race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France on 6 August 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer, File)
Anna Barnett and John Gimson of Great Britain compete in the Nacra 17 mixed multihull sailing race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France on 6 August 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer, File)
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Boats are typically made from carbon fiber, fiberglass, or PVC foam, and require a lot of energy to manufacture in a process that emits carbon pollution. These materials do not decompose and are difficult to recycle. As a result, boats used by elite sailors must be sold, passed on to younger sailors, or sent for specialized recycling to avoid landfill.
As part of the World Sailing initiative, sustainability consultancy Marine Futures collects operational data from boat manufacturers and surveys athletes about the number of boats, sails, masts and other equipment they use, how often they change equipment and how they travel on their vessels.
Marine Futures director Ollie Taylor said the goal was to understand the environmental impact of the four-year Olympic cycle by the end of this year and identify which interventions by World Sailing could make the biggest difference. Mr Taylor said these could include encouraging builders to incorporate reusable materials, redesigning boats, changing competition schedules to minimize travel and transport of boats, and taking steps to ensure equipment is reused.
The goal is to eliminate guesswork and put data behind every decision, Taylor said.
Michelle Carnevale, president of environmental group 11th Hour Racing, said the initiative shows progress in recent years. Ten years ago, sustainability wasn’t much of a topic in the sailing world, but environmental monitoring and benchmarking could now be incorporated into the sport’s rules, Carnevale said. Carnevale’s organization is sponsoring the development of the software used in the project.
Walker Ross, a sports ecology and sustainability expert at the University of Edinburgh, said he liked World Sailing’s leadership on sustainability and hoped more sporting bodies would be similarly thoughtful.
“Many sports have specialized equipment that consumes significant resources to produce and is difficult to recycle at the end of its useful life,” he wrote in an email Wednesday.
Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, praised World Sailing for tackling the environmental impact of boat construction. But Mr Parkinson, whose organization calculates the environmental impact of major sporting events, said the biggest impact of international sport comes from travel, particularly air travel by spectators.
Seafarers want to become better environmental stewards
Hélène Noesmont of France leads the pack during the women’s iQFOiL windsurfing class quarterfinal race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer, File)
Hélène Noesmont of France leads the pack during the women’s iQFOiL windsurfing class quarterfinal race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer, File)
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At the Olympic level, sailors often purchase multiple pieces of equipment to choose the best one to increase their competitiveness. That could lead to even more waste, said Olympian Dave Hughes, who was a competitor and coach for the U.S. team.
Mr Hughes, chairman of the committee representing World Sailing athletes, said: “There is always a certain amount of competition to get the best equipment and that can lead to a range of opportunities where there is less waste.”
Mr Hughes said if World Sailing could work with manufacturers to create higher standards, there would be less variation for certain pieces of equipment such as masts, foils and sails, and there would be less incentive to source multiple options. Hughes said this would be better for the environment and reduce costs for the team.
“As we connect with the marine environment every day, we also experience every day how the Earth is changing,” Hughes said.
Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands returns to port after the final race of the ILCA 6 dinghy class was postponed during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
Marit Bouwmeester of the Netherlands returns to port after the final race of the ILCA 6 dinghy class was postponed during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
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Santiago Sampaio, chief technology officer of the International Laser Class Association, which oversees the type of single-handed racing dinghies used at the Olympics, said he believes it is possible to reduce the amount of equipment sailors use each year and use construction materials that do not harm the environment. The association is testing whether high-density PVC foam on ILCA yachts can be replaced with environmentally friendly recycled PET plastic.
Sampaio said it is important to consider whether any changes will affect the boat’s performance or longevity, make the thousands of other boats already in use obsolete, or make it unaffordable for some teams to compete.
“We don’t want to build a boat that’s too expensive. It’s great for the environment, but there’s no one in Fiji or Ghana or Angola who can actually afford this green, sustainable boat, so we’re losing those people.”
World Sailing hopes to bring about broader change
Louise Cervera of France practices before the start of the women’s dinghy race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
Louise Cervera of France practices before the start of the women’s dinghy race at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Marseille, France, August 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)
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Mr Rickham said changes and new regulations based on the project’s results would ideally be introduced by the 2032 Olympics, if not earlier. This data may be used to select some equipment suppliers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. From 2032, Olympic sailing classes will be required to provide an independently verified life cycle assessment.
Mr Rickham said World Sailing hoped the wider sailing community and other sporting bodies would follow its lead.
“That’s where our biggest area of impact is, and that’s the ripple effect we have across Olympic sports, rowing and the recreational boating industry as a whole,” she said.
Madeleine Orr, an assistant professor of sports ecology at the University of Toronto, thinks that could happen. World Sailing has the data it needs to encourage its suppliers to adopt more sustainable materials and circular options, and those suppliers’ other customers span the entire boating sector, Orr said.
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