Volvo Ocean Race Youth Academy returns

The Volvo Ocean Race Youth Academy, powered by International, is back for 2017-18 – and more committed than ever to helping young people around the world learn more about sailing.

The programme, which was a great success in 2014-15, has been backed by AkzoNobel coatings brand, International, which has become the Official Youth Partner for the forthcoming edition, and aims to give youngsters around the planet a chance to try the sport, whilst driving excitement and interest around the race by encouraging more people to experience sailing and teamwork. 

For the more experienced young sailors, a series of races in Optimist dinghies will take place at ten of the 12 scheduled stopovers. Various workshops, training sessions and other activities will also be provided, such as educating and inspiring people to tackle the problem of plastic in our oceans. 

"We’ve already announced our commitment to creating Volvo Ocean Race Academies designed to help young high-performance sailors gain the necessary offshore experience to compete for places on participating teams. That is one major stepping stone and the continuation of the Youth Academy is another important one."

This is about inspiring young people, getting them out on the water, educating them about the importance of ocean health and giving them the chance to dream.

Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Mark Turner

AkzoNobel's International brand is the world leader in high performance yacht coatings, as well as industrial protective coatings. The broad product range includes antifoulings, foul release systems, fire protection coatings and above and below the waterline yacht coatings and paints.

“Connecting with young people and possibly helping to nurture the next generation of Volvo Ocean Race sailors is an exciting opportunity and we are delighted that the Youth Academy will be powered by International,” said Alberto Slikta, Managing Director of AkzoNobel Specialty Coatings. 

"Building on team AkzoNobel's participation in the next edition, it's a unique chance for us to support young sailors across the globe and broaden our involvement in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race by making a meaningful and lasting contribution."

The Youth Academy events will take place in 10 Host Cities along the Volvo Ocean Race route – Alicante, Lisbon, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Auckland, Itajaí, Newport, Cardiff, Gothenburg and The Hague. Each Optimist race will feature eight teams, with each Volvo Ocean Race team represented by a team in the Youth Academy.