A donation of $1,500 to fund a scholarship for a young, Bermudian female to participate in advanced race training at a Bermuda sailing club, has been made by WiRe, the Women in Reinsurance professional group.

The scholarship was funded on behalf of WiRe by donations from board members Kathleen Faries, head of Bermuda for Tokio Millennium Re, and Kathleen Reardon, chief executive officer of Hamilton Re.

“We formed WiRe to support the professional advancement of women,” said Ms Reardon.

“We accomplish this by providing our members with educational, mentoring and networking opportunities throughout the year. However, we also want to see women achieve in the wider community so this scholarship was a great match for WiRe.”

Ms Faries said: “We’re pleased to provide this donation to allow a young female to pursue her sport.

“We hope she will now be able to receive the training and experience she needs to not only excel in the sport of sailing but to use what she learns about herself and apply it to other areas of life.”

The idea to offer sailing scholarships for young women came from the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association following the success of the America’s Cup Endeavour Programme, a community sailing and education programme launched in Bermuda in connection with the 35th America’s Cup presented by Louis Vuitton.

While the AC Endeavour Programme has achieved great success in introducing schoolchildren across all socioeconomic backgrounds to sailing, Boda recognised that the costs might be prohibitive for some to continue the sport after graduating from the programme.

Tom Herbert Evans, community sailing manager for the America’s Cup Event Authority, said: “Sailing is a unique sport where you must combine both physical techniques and strategic comprehension in order to succeed. This creates a great level playing field for all genders and you often see girls excel in sailing.

“I grew up sailing against a friend named Hannah Mills who recently won a gold in Rio and was nominated ISAF World Sailor of the year. I recall her being one of the toughest competitors and rarely were any of the boys in front of her. Typically, there are less girls sailing than boys and we need to change that.”

Sylvia Oliveira, BODA treasurer and event organiser, said: “We are grateful to Kathleen Faries, Kathleen Reardon and WiRe for providing this scholarship so a young, Bermudian female sailor can continue to train at the advanced club level.”