Watch the conclusion of the SailGP season live on Sky Sports on March 26 and 27; the winner of the racing on the water will be crowned, alongside the winner of the Impact League, which is focused on sustainability
Wednesday 2 February 2022 18:19, UK
"I massively believe that sport has an incredible opportunity to deliver messaging for the right things and athletes have huge responsibility to be role models for the right things."
Hannah Mills is the most successful female sailor in Olympic history, she was named as the 2021 Rolex World Sailor of the Year, is a global ambassador for SailGP and an integral part of Great Britain's SailGP team.
SailGP is a competition in which the world's best sailors compete on equally-matched, cutting-edge F50 catamarans. It has brought together the leaders in the sport and despite being relatively young, is a competition that's growing quickly and innovatively.
"Even though it launched in 2019, SailGP is only on Season 2 because of the COVID restrictions," Sir Ben Ainslie, Mills' leader on the British SailGP team said.
"There have been huge strides forwards on the water, we've seen that in the racing, and just as importantly, the league has already developed greatly commercially."
Season 2 of SailGP has featured seven Sail Grand Prix events around the globe. Teams' campaigns started in Bermuda in April 2021 and since, they have travelled to Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, France, Spain and Australia.
The competition will reach its conclusion in San Francisco. On March 26 and 27, live on Sky Sports, one team will secure SailGP's trophy and $1m following a winner-takes-all Grand Final.
"It's a truly global league; going to these venues is fantastic from a sailor's perspective but again from a commercial perspective for potential partners," Ainslie noted
"The fact that they can be represented truly globally and in a league that is also hugely sustainable and can back that up by its actions, it's not just talk, we're seeing that's really appealing to a lot of partners."
The fact that sustainability is at the heart of SailGP is something that Mills is hugely passionate about too. A unique feature of SailGP is that there's a parallel competition to the one happening on the water called the 'Impact League'.
"The Impact League is all about sustainability, raising awareness and changing how we operate to improve our efficiency, reduce our carbon footprint," Mills said to Sky Sports News. "Essentially, it's a podium for the planet.
"If SailGP can lead the way and inspire other sports to create their own types of Impact Leagues or diversity programmes or general equality programmes, I think that's just hugely impactful. The reach that sport has is unparalleled to almost anything else."
At the end of the season in San Francisco there will be two podiums and the winner of the Impact League will earn funding for its purpose partner, who has supported and advised them throughout the season.
Ainslie reiterated his colleague's comments and supports sustainability being a key part of any elite competition.
"From the teams' perspective, the Impact League has been great because it's really brought a little extra edge," he said.
"It's really truly competitive, not quite as competitive as it is on the water but it's not far off! It's a great initiative for the league to put that in place and it would be great to see other sports following its example."
Following the conclusion of Season 2, the competition's third season will feature additional teams and further new venues.
Season 3 has been expanded to include 10 events in total, with seven events taking place in 2022 and the remainder in the first quarter of 2023. The season is expected to finish in April 2023 and every race day will be shown live on Sky Sports.
SailGP will also continue to 'Race for the Future' and maintain its focus on sustainability. The league has set an ambitious target of 55 per cent reduction of its carbon footprint - based on science - by 2025 and SailGP is committed to being fully powered by nature by the same year, on shore and on the water.
Every host city will sign the league's Climate Action Charter and commit to local impact projects focusing on clean energy impact and wider ocean conservation.
Sky Sports and Sail GP competition terms and conditions - https://www.skyticketit.com/sky/offer/terms.php?promoid=SAIL1221
