European Championships - 5th July 2025, Lake Garda, Italy
Can sailing sharpen your creativity?
That was the challenge posed by the Kidzink Floating Eco-Hub Workshop at the 2025 29er European Championship in Lake Garda — and over 50 sailors answered with a resounding yes.
Held over two packed evenings, this off-the-water experience became a hit of the event, drawing in more than a fifth of the entire fleet and turning fresh ideas into bold designs, unexpected friendships, and game-changing opportunities.
The Challenge
Led by an innovative trio, educator and lab director Daniel O’Hara, architect and neuropsychologist Ana Mombiedro, and architecture assoc
iate Carla Viejo, the workshop invited sailors to imagine and design their own floating eco-hub. Working in mixed-nationality teams, the sailors tapped into creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving, skills they often use on the water, but now applied to sustainability and architecture.
Prizes with Purpose— Game Changers for Young Sailors
As the 29er Class, we are committed to more than just high-performance racing. We want to create a space where sailors grow not only as athletes, but as people — through fun, creativity, teamwork, and sustainability. That is why we have partnered with Kidzink to launch workshops like the Eco-Hub Challenge: to give young sailors experiences that go beyond the racecourse.
What made this workshop truly stand out were the prizes — designed not just to reward talent, but to nurture it. These were not just trophies or medals. They were real opportunities that could open doors: from regatta sponsorships to new sails, international internships, and custom designs for the winners’ schools.
These prizes reflect the heart of what we are aiming for as a class: to support young people on and off the water — and to show that sailing can sharpen not just your skills, but your imagination and potential too.
A heartfelt thank you to all the sailors that participated and congratulations to the winning team!
1st Place Team
Tomasz Zawadka – Poland
Tymon Sochaj – Poland
Lila Edwards – UK
Jake Rawes – UK
Here’s what the winning team received:
Sponsorship for both the 2025 29er Europeans and Worlds
→ Covering entry fees, removing financial barriers to two of the most competitive youth sailing events on the planet.
Two brand-new sails for each winner — 1 jib + 1 spinnaker
→ Giving teams the performance edge that top equipment can provide.
An internship at Kidzink’s Dubai HQ
→ A one-of-a-kind experience to work inside a global creative firm, opening the door to future careers in design, sustainability, and innovation.
2nd Place Team
Jules Burnaby Lautier – Netherlands
Folkert van Surksum – Netherlands
Marlene Heyer – Germany
Elly von Gartzen – Germany
2nd Place Prizes:
An internship at Kidzink’s Dubai HQ
A custom architectural design for the winners’ schools
→ A gift that extends far beyond the regatta, bringing inspiration and change back to the winners' communities.
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The Kidzink Team and top 2 winning teams of the floating eco-hub workshop
Together, these prizes celebrated not just talent, but vision, creativity, and the ability to collaborate under pressure. They reflect Kidzink’s belief that the classroom can happen anywhere — even at a boat park in Italy, with cardboard, markers, and a whole lot of imagination.
What the Sailors Took Away
For many participants, the biggest learning wasn’t technical, it was human. Teams were formed with sailors who had never met before, yet had to immediately begin designing, debating, and building ideas together.
“You had to trust each other from the very beginning,” one sailor shared.
“The key was to let everyone’s creativity in and see where it could take us.”
The atmosphere was buzzing, full of laughter, focus, collaboration, and curiosity. It was a space where sailors could connect beyond results, flags, or fleets, and discover the value of creative teamwork.
A Workshop That Embodied the Kidzink Mission
Kidzink’s mission is to design learning spaces that think differently — environments that spark imagination, encourage teamwork, and inspire the next generation to lead with purpose. By challenging international teams of sailors to create their own sustainable floating eco-hub, the workshop brought this mission to life in a completely new way.
Through collaboration, design thinking, and out-of-the-box creativity, sailors weren’t just learning about sustainability — they were building it, together. And in the process, they proved that the strategic mindset learned on the water is perfectly at home in the creative world.
To learn more about how Kidzink is reimagining education worldwide, visit kidzink.com.
A Massive Thank You
Thank you to Kidzink’s vision and generosity, this initiative showed that building a sustainable future can also build community, opportunity, and excitement.
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LINKS
Check out the full photo gallery: HERE
Check out these Videos on Instagram about the Workshop
Workshop Insights Video: HERE
Interview with the Winners Video: HERE
