#VOLVO OCEAN RACE - The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will feature an all-woman crew for the first time since 2002, the Galway Advertiser reports.
The first team to declare for the race - which kicks off in Alicante two years from now - is backed by the Sweden-based global paper products company SCA, and will take delivery of the first new one-design boat for the race in 2013.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the new design VOR 65 - priced at €4.5 million, about 20% less expensive than the 70-footer that ended its run in Galway this summer - was developed with the idea of reducing the costs of competing in the gruelling round-the-world yacht race.
Another benefit of the new shorter, lighter design is that it puts less of an emphasis on physical strength, meaning that woman can once again be competitive in the race.
All-female crews in the next edition of the race will be allowed two extra crewmembers under VOR race rules.
"I'm very pleased to see a women's team back in the race," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad. "The lack of women in the last few editions of the race has meant we haven't been representing half the population of the human race."
According to France24, four all-women teams have taken part in the race since 1973, when it was known as the Whitbread Round the World Race, but the physically demanding VOR 70 introduced in 2005 effectively pushed women out of the contest.
The SCA team is expected to be one of at least eight taking part in the next edition of the race, although it is unlikely that Galway will see its return in the near future.
The Galway Advertiser has more on the story HERE.
