Leading Impact

New Zealand’s Black Foils lead SailGP’s 2026 Season Impact League after backing a campaign to end bottom trawling on seamounts.

Photography by SailGP

22 July 2026

New Zealand’s Black Foils have taken the early lead in SailGP’s 2026 Season Impact League after supporting a major campaign to end bottom trawling on seamounts in New Zealand waters and the South Pacific high seas.

The team secured the Focus Area 1 award after an independent judging panel recognised its combination of athlete advocacy, public mobilisation and direct policy engagement.

SailGP’s Impact League runs alongside the Rolex SailGP Championship, scoring teams for environmental and social initiatives conducted away from the racecourse. Projects are assessed across the Better Planet and Better Sport categories, with an emphasis on measurable outcomes, transparency and long-term change.

Swim4TheOcean drives action

The Black Foils’ campaign was led by co-CEO and Olympic champion Blair Tuke in partnership with ocean conservation organisation Live Ocean.

At its centre was Swim4TheOcean, a 90-day endurance swim completed by ultra-distance swimmer Jono Ridler along the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Ridler covered 1,367 kilometres to build public support for stronger ocean protections and an end to bottom trawling on vulnerable seamount ecosystems.

Black Foils athletes joined community events, supported the swim on the water and engaged with politicians from across the political spectrum.

The campaign culminated in the presentation of a petition carrying 73,647 signatures to the New Zealand Parliament. It called for an end to bottom-trawling permits on the South Pacific high seas, stronger protection for seamount ecosystems and support for a transition away from the fishing practice.

The initiative also generated almost 400 million global media impressions and coverage in approximately 400 news articles.

What Jono did is one of the greatest endurance feats of all time, but this was always more than just a swim – it was a platform to create change,” Tuke said.

“Swim4TheOcean was one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I’ve ever been involved in, and I’m so proud of what was achieved.

“We saw New Zealanders really come around this with a snowball of support, giving us a powerful platform to drive positive action for the ocean.”

The F50 catamaran fleet sail past the grandstand on Race Day 2 of the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix in Bermuda. Sunday 10 May 2026. Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy for SailGP.

Race Day 1 of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland, New Zealand. Saturday 14 February 2026. Photo: Felix Diemer for SailGP.

Switzerland SailGP Team in a collision with Black Foils SailGP Team, Race 1, Race Day 1 of the Oracle Perth Sail Grand Prix. Photo: Christophe Favreau for SailGP.

Brazil takes second place

The Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team placed second for a project addressing ocean pollution and social inequality in Guanabara Bay ahead of the Enel Rio Sail Grand Prix.

The team removed more than eight tonnes of marine debris and employed more than 60 local fishers, paying them five times the minimum wage.

Ten redundant F50 wingsheets were repurposed as World Surf League buoy anchors, while thousands of plastic cable ties were recycled into 500 surf-wax combs.

The initiative also delivered ocean-health and STEM workshops to 60 young people and donated 90 items of redundant team clothing to disadvantaged young sailors.

Emirates GBR athletes Dylan Fletcher and Hannah Mills and team principal and CEO Sir Ben Ainslie. Photo: Jason Ludlow for SailGP.

Emirates GBR athletes Dylan Fletcher and Hannah Mills and team principal and CEO Sir Ben Ainslie joined SailGP executives Andrew Thompson and Leah Davis start the countdown to the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, July 25-26, 2026. Photo: Jason Ludlow for SailGP.

France and Germany share third

The first tie in Impact League history saw the DS Automobiles SailGP Team France and Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank share third place.

Germany’s Beyond Sailing Program combined environmental DNA research with youth education, using data collected at SailGP events to support marine biodiversity research and conservation.

France’s Regen Ocean Farms project supported regenerative seaweed farming in Brazil, with the aim of restoring ecosystems, creating local employment and developing seaweed-based materials.

The materials included bioplastic components used on the French team’s F50 to help reduce its environmental footprint.

SailGP Head of Impact Iona Neilson said the projects demonstrated how sporting performance and sustainability could work together.

SailGP’s Impact League continues to demonstrate what’s possible when world-class athletes and teams apply the same competitive mindset to creating positive impact,” Neilson said.

“This year’s projects have shown that sustainability is not a side initiative – it can be an integral part of what sporting excellence looks like.”

Further focus-area winners and the overall 2026 Season Impact League champion will be announced later this year.

The Rolex SailGP Championship continues with the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix in Portsmouth on 25 and 26 July 2026.

Tickets remain available for the event at SailGP.com/Portsmouth, and those around the world can find out how to tune-in via their local broadcaster at SailGP.com/Watch.

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