Emirates GBR SailGP Team strikes sailing's first ever transfer fee deal for Driver Giles Scott
by Emirates GBR SailGP Team 3 Oct 2024 08:31 BST
2 October 2024
Giles Scott, driver of Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team, waves to the spectators as Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team cross the finish line to win the race on Race Day 2 of the ROCKWOOL Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, Canada © Felix Diemer for SailGP
Emirates GBR Driver Giles Scott will join the Canada SailGP Team for the 2024/2025 Season, after the British team's CEO, Ben Ainslie, negotiated sailing's first ever transfer fee deal. Scott has signed a multi-year contract with the Canadian team and will make his debut at the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on 23-24 November.
The double Olympic gold medalist, who holds a Canadian passport and also won the Canadian Sail Grand Prix in June, will take over the Driver role from Phil Robertson. The move comes after Scott ended the 2023/2024 Season with three podium finishes in as many events with Emirates GBR.
Scott was handed the Driver role on-board the Emirates GBR F50 by Ainslie halfway through Season 4 in January 2024, joining a crew of sailing's top talent.
Alongside Scott was two-time Olympic champion Hannah Mills as Strategist, double Olympic medalist Iain Jensen as Wing Trimmer, Volvo Ocean Race winner Luke Parkinson as Flight Controller, Olympic rowing champion Matt Gotrel and America's Cup athletes Neil Hunter and Nick Hutton as Grinders as well as Athena Pathway's Hannah Diamond as Reserve Sailor.
With the support of a stellar line-up, Scott was able to develop quickly in the Driver role and banked the team's third win of the season at the Canadian Sail Grand Prix in Halifax, following on from the team's wins in Saint-Tropez and Taranto with Ben Ainslie as Driver.
Scott and Ainslie have a long history, competing with and against one another for the sport's greatest prizes. Ainslie taking the Finn class Olympic Gold medal in 2004, 2008 and 2012 with Scott taking the Gold in 2016 and 2021.
Ainslie said: "This is a great opportunity for Giles and therefore we support his move to the Canada SailGP Team. Giles did an excellent job as Driver of the Emirates GBR F50 and we are sure he will go on to achieve great things with the Canadian team. This is the first ever transfer fee deal in sailing, and it shows the level of the team's performance last season as well as the strength of the commercialisation of the League."
SailGP has confirmed the acquisition of the Canada SailGP Team by biotech entrepreneur, Dr. Greg Bailey. Ainslie said: "SailGP is one of the world's fastest growing sports leagues and to continue the upwards trajectory, continuity in our key markets is crucial. It's fantastic that Greg has come in to secure Team Canada's future in SailGP with a new management team and we look forward to welcoming Greg and the team to the League at the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix."
Scott said: "It's been amazing sailing with a great bunch on-board Emirates GBR in Season 4, they're a great squad. It's some positive but sad news to say I'm leaving the British team to head to another country that's incredibly close to my heart. I'm making the move to the Canada SailGP Team. I'm really excited to make this step and I'm looking forward to some close racing against my good friends in the British team."
Emirates GBR will announce its crew line-up for the 2024/2025 Season in the coming weeks, with the team looking forward to kicking off the new season at the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix on 23 and 24 November, as well as a return to home waters with the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix on 19 and 20 July 2025.