IN BRIEF:
- Double Olympian and round-the-world sailor, Francesca Clapcich, along with sponsor 11th Hour Racing, announce groundbreaking research partnership with the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University in the UK.
- The study will examine how applying the principles of belief and belonging in a high-performance sport setting can help teams accomplish complex, shared goals that benefit all members and improve performance, and will be used to inform a series of peer-to-peer workshops.
- The research findings, to be published later in 2025, are grounded in Clapcich’s powerful vision for change which includes how diversity of thought and diversity of leadership could be applied to creating solutions for tackling climate change.
- Clapcich: “For a long time I have held the conviction that if you believe in yourself and feel you belong, you will be able to achieve more both for yourself and the team around you. Alongside this, what interests me is how a sense of belonging can also do more for the environment – both the natural and the human world – because despite all our differences, ultimately we are all on one team. How does the concept of belonging have an impact on climate justice? That’s just one of the questions we want to be answering with this research.”
IN FULL:
Double Olympian and round-the-world sailor, Francesca Clapcich (ITA/USA), has announced a groundbreaking research partnership with the Carnegie School of Sport at Leeds Beckett University in the UK. Supported by Clapcich’s sponsor, 11th Hour Racing, the research, led by Professor Julian North alongside researcher Lesley McKenna OLY, and co-produced with purpose consultancy Think Beyond, will delve deeper into how applying the principles of belief and belonging can help teams accomplish complex, shared goals that benefit all members and improve performance.
Clapcich believes that a culture of belonging – feeling that you are part of something and accepted for exactly who you are – can have transformative potential to the success of teams, whether at the professional or grassroots level of sport and in the wider world. The research findings, to be published later in 2025, are grounded in Clapcich’s powerful vision for change which includes how diversity of thought and diversity of leadership could be applied to creating solutions for tackling climate change.
“As an athlete, I’m always focused on how to get more out of myself, my team, and my equipment. For a long time, I have held the conviction that if you believe in yourself and feel you belong, you will be able to achieve more both for yourself and the team around you,” commented Clapcich. “Alongside this, what interests me is how a sense of belonging can also do more for the environment around us – both the natural and the human world – because despite all our differences, ultimately we are all on one team. How does the concept of belonging have an impact on climate justice? That’s just one of the questions we want to be answering with this research.”
Clapcich will use the research to inform a series of peer-to-peer workshops to empower athletes, leaders, and advocates to have a better understanding of the importance and value of belonging, and champion behaviors that aid belonging in the sport of sailing and beyond. The first workshops will be delivered in March 2025 in the home of offshore yacht racing in Brittany, France.
One of the most versatile sailors in the sport, Clapcich (ITA/USA) has twice competed for Italy in the Olympic Games, has twice raced around the world in The Ocean Race, and was a member of the American Magic Team for the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona, Spain, 2024. In September last year, she launched her campaign, Believe, Belong, Achieve alongside 11th Hour Racing, with a mission to use her voice and platform to share solutions to tackle discrimination and climate change within sailing and wider society through education, advocacy, and collective action.
The Leeds Beckett team is led by Professor Julian North, Director of the Centre for Sport Coaching at the Carnegie School of Sport. A social and sport researcher for 30 years across policy, practice, and academic roles in the UK and Australia, Professor North specializes in performance culture, effective and ethical practice, learning development and education, policy and systems. The report is co-led by Lesley McKenna, a PhD researcher, three-time Olympian in snowboarding, and a backcountry guide. McKenna is also a multi-sport high-performance coach developer.
With previous experience working with US Soccer, US Tennis Association, the IOC, FIFA, and The Football Association, the Leeds Beckett team is undertaking in-depth and in-situ practical, ethical, and cultural analysis, and education development activities alongside Francesca and her team. Professor North and McKenna will spend time with other high-performance teams observing and testing how the practices they uncover with Francesca can be applied in different settings.
“The team at Leeds Beckett University has worked extensively with high-performance teams in the cultural and ethical understanding and development space, and we are delighted to be involved in this groundbreaking research partnership with Francesca Clapcich, 11th Hour Racing, and Think Beyond,” said Professor North. “Francesca has some great ideas, along with fascinating and powerful stories to share, and we will work closely with her to gain a deeper understanding of what sits behind her vision, and to bring it to a wider audience, supporting social and climate justice causes.”
The Leeds Beckett research will be undertaken throughout 2025, and published and shared on Francesca’s website (francescaclapcich.com) by the end of the year.
To be one of the first to attend a Believe, Belong, Achieve Workshop, contact the team at news@francescaclapcich.com.
| ABOUT FRANCESCA CLAPCICH Professional athlete Francesca Clapcich is one of the world’s most versatile sailors. She has twice represented Italy at both the London (finishing 19th) and Rio (finishing 5th) Olympic Games in the Laser and 49erFX classes respectively; was the first Italian woman to compete in the Solitaire du Figaro; and has raced around the world twice in The Ocean Race, becoming the first Italian to win the notoriously challenging race in the 2022-23 edition. She was the very first female skipper to compete in the Ocean Fifty Series, leading the all-female team UpWind by MerConcept, and competed in the Puig Women’s America’s Cup for American Magic in 2024. Her next big goal is to compete in the 2028 Vendée Globe, sailing solo and non-stop around the planet. In January 2024, it was announced that Francesca is powered by 11th Hour Racing, which advocates for sustainability and ocean health globally, through solution-oriented initiatives for a more inclusive and sustainable future. In both her professional and personal life, Francesca seeks solutions to inspire change and foster a community where diversity is celebrated, and equality is the norm, both on and off the water. francescaclapcich.com |
ABOUT 11TH HOUR RACING
11th Hour Racing works to mobilize sports, maritime, and coastal communities with an innovative approach to inspire solutions for the ocean. 11th Hour Racing promotes collaborative, systemic change through three primary areas of engagement: sponsorships, grantees, and ambassadors. Under the 11th Hour Racing umbrella, activities are provided through 11th Hour Racing, Inc., which serves as the impact entity and provides programmatic direction to its philanthropic partners, including 11th Hour Racing Charitable, LLC, which engages in charitable work, and 11th Hour Racing Action, LLC, which engages in social welfare programs and advocacy.
Learn more at 11thhourracing.org
