Researchers and educational psychologists have long championed the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, where students or stakeholder groups enhance their knowledge and skills through mutual collaboration and teaching.

Enhanced engagement, active learning, improved understanding and confidence building are among the positive consequences of a well-planned and executed peer-to-peer session.

So when Alexandra Rickham, director of sustainability at World Sailing, began to identify a “disconnect” between the international federation’s Sustainability Agenda 2030 strategy and the practices of some of its members and stakeholders, she decided to lean on a peer-to-peer approach to bring everyone’s awareness and understanding up to a certain level.

As such, the World Sailing Sustainability Sessions were born, kicking off in October 2023 with a session about the Clean Regattas sustainability certification, hosted by its partner and leader of the initiative, Sailors for the Sea.

“We started with Clean Regattas because it is an amazing tool for us and, alongside Sailors for the Sea, we’re really trying to push it out,” Rickham tells The Sustainability Report. 

“It’s really accessible, any event can use it, and it helps us get data to understand what’s happening across the world – and it’s really difficult to get pure data.”

More than 200 stakeholders

Over the first five Sustainability Sessions, more than 200 sailor stakeholders were engaged across a number of key topics, leading to the initiative gaining recognition as the ‘best project’ in the Three Years of Progress study carried out by the Sport Ecology Group.

Of that initial group, 34% were sailors, 21% were event organisers, 15% were sailing clubs and 14% represented member associations.

Biodiversity, and particularly marine mammal strikes and sightings, was a key topic of interest for offshore sailors and races. The session will be followed up with the publication of guidance around Megafauna Strikes and Sightings, and is one part of the work World Sailing does around nature.

Guidance and support around addressing invasive species, oil spills and coral reef-safe sunscreen has also been produced, and Rickham is keen that all future guidance, including the second series of Sustainability Sessions, is tailored to the needs of World Sailing’s core audiences.

“We wanted to be able to collect data and feedback to really understand what people are interested in, what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy. When we’re going into the second season we can be more targeted in our approach,” the former Paralympic sailor explains.

“It’s still going to be a little bit broad, but like we can be more targeted in knowing that certain class associations are going to be really interested in a specific topic, for example. And I think from that perspective we’re hopefully going to continue to create a more rounded delivery and really try to make something out of the sessions.”

First season highlights for Rickham include the delivery of a peer-to-peer session by the RS 21 class, which has done “lots of amazing things” around finding sustainability-focused sponsors, establishing electric ribs on the water and promoting gender equality.

“It’s a phenomenal amount of investment and really thinking with a 360 view,” she says. “That kind of thing is really inspirational when we see people standing up in our community and doing things like that.” 

Inclusive and engaging

The Magenta Project, which won World Sailing’s Sustainability Award creating a bespoke programme to support and fast-track female sailors, delivered a session on the power of diversity and inclusion. And, together with its partner Starboard (manufacturer of the windsurf boards for Paris 2024) World Sailing delivered a special session on materials, crafting and life cycle analysis.

Going forward, Rickham would like to explore different mediums to present the sessions to make them more inclusive and engaging for different learner types. She would also like to get more athletes and scientists involved to present different perspectives, particularly around the climate crisis and what it means for the sport and its member nations.

“I’m not worried about finding people and finding stories, because I think that there are loads out there. But, on a personal note, the development side of things is super important to me in terms of climate action,” adds Rickham.

“I want us to be able to also showcase the risks to members across the world who are maybe more impacted by climate change or by environmental degradation, and give them the opportunity to tell their stories.”

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