The Red Bull Sailing Academy has opened in Monfalcone in the north of Italy. The facility, which was established in collaboration with Red Bull and SailGP Italy, is a high-performance sports centre for all foil sailing classes, kitefoiling and Olympic sailing. The aim is to become one of Europe's leading training centres in these disciplines.
Prominent support and objectives
The opening ceremony was attended by well-known sailing stars such as Olympic champion Ruggero Tita, two-time America's Cup winner Jimmy Spithill and two-time gold medallist in the Tornado, Hans-Peter Steinacher. Steinacher is CEO of Marina Monfalcone, on which the centre was built. The academy will focus on training programmes for athletes competing in elite competitions such as the America's Cup, SailGP and the Olympic Games. This development comes just in time, as Italy is preparing for the America's Cup 2027 in its home waters off Naples. In his opening speech, Hans Peter Steinacher emphasised the role of the academy in developing international talent. He explained: "The sport has developed enormously since 2013, when foiling changed everything, and here in the Bay of Trieste we have the ideal conditions to train at the highest level."
International performance centre with top trainers
The Red Bull Sailing Academy will act as an international training centre and offer coaching, equipment testing, logistics and performance management services. The coaching team includes former Olympic medallists and high-performance specialists such as Roman Hagara, Santiago Lange, Thomas Zajac and Hans-Peter Steinacher. This combination of expertise should provide the athletes with the highest level of support. Ruggero Tita described the academy as a much-needed addition to the sport of sailing in Italy. He added: "It is a place built by sailors for sailors and will become a centre of excellence at the highest level. With names like Thomas Zajac, Santiago Lange, Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher passing on their experience here, it is a unique opportunity for the next generation to learn from the best."
Year-round training base
Jimmy Spithill, head of the Red Bull Italy SailGP teamemphasised the importance of a permanent, year-round training base and noted that professional sailing traditionally operates on a global racing series without a fixed performance centre. "This makes the Red Bull Sailing Academy here a real game changer - not only for SailGP athletes, but also for the next generation of Olympic contenders and world champions. The facility in Monfalcone really completes the whole picture, from foiling and kitesurfing to health, wellness and preparation," he commented.
Public celebrations to mark the opening
The opening ceremony offered the public a varied programme. The attractions included cliff diving demonstrations as well as wakeboarding and water skiing demonstrations. Visitors also had the opportunity to tour the new academy and meet the participating athletes. This mixture of high-performance sport and public accessibility emphasised the academy's aim to inspire both top athletes and the general public for the sport of sailing.
Plans for the future and promotion of popular sports
The Red Bull Academy is also planning to offer programmes for kitesurfing and wingfoiling athletes. The aim is to cover the broad spectrum of foiling disciplines and promote talent in various areas. At the same time, the academy will continue to offer public sailing lessons through the Scuola Vela Tito Nordio. This combination of top-class sport and popular sport promotion should help to further develop the sport of sailing in Italy and beyond and discover new talents.
