Junior Offshore Group (JOG) and Henri Lloyd partnership drives youth participation up
by Alexis Eyre 26 Jul 2022 14:35 BST
Junior Offshore Group (JOG) and Henri Lloyd partnership drives youth participation up © JOG
Since the partnership between offshore yacht racing club, Junior Offshore Group (JOG), and Henri Lloyd kicked off last year, youth membership has increased by 72% and now comprises 25% of the entire membership base.
Henri Lloyd have become valuable supporters of JOG's youth programme, Generation JOG. With the cost of kit being one of the major obstacles to youth entry and retention in offshore yacht racing, Henri Lloyd have donated multiple sets of performance racing shells to Gen-JOG Members upon them achieving sailing milestones or targets in the past 12 months.
When asked how valuable this support has been, one Generation JOG member, Becca, who is now the proud owner of some kit, said "Generation JOG has been a wonderful opportunity for me to sail alongside other young sailors and hone skills that I may not have had the opportunity to develop on board more established boats with more seasoned crews."
With Henri Lloyd's focus on responsible consumption, they are helping educate JOG members on how to keep their current kit in circulation for as long as possible through repair and the best winter storage techniques.
The success of the partnership has meant both parties have agreed to renew their partnership for at least another 18 months with the focus on scaling the positive impact even further.
Commenting on the importance of this partnership renewal, Race Captain, Stuart Lawrence said, "Partnerships are crucial in scaling positive impact. What we have with Henri Lloyd is a true testament to that. They have helped us enormously in driving youth engagement up and enabling the younger members to overcome some obstacles that have previously been considered fairly insurmountable. We really look forward to the coming months ahead and excited to see the partnership continue."
Ross Partridge, Partnership Manager states: "Helping to grow true grass-root youth sailing within JOG has been great. These young sailors are achieving new milestones in their racing careers and we are proud to support this. We are also pleased to be partnering with many other yachts, skippers and crews of the JOG fleet."
See also jog.org.uk or www.henrilloyd.com