The 2025 edition of the 1001VelaCup is underway: the Mètis Vela team from the University of Padua takes part in the competition.

From 1 to 5 October, Bellano (LC) will host the 2025 edition of the 1001VelaCup, the international regatta that every year brings together the best university teams, with boats designed and built by students. Among the protagonists is the Mètis Vela team from the University of Padua, winner of the last two editions and the 2024 Paolo Padova trophy. The team, founded in 2008, has over 60 students from different degree courses, united by their passion for sailing, design and sustainability.

Also competing are the universities of Trieste, Turin, La Spezia, Palermo and international universities such as Karlsruhe and the Munich Polytechnic. The event will offer a week of regattas, technical meetings, conferences and networking activities between the academic and professional worlds. There will also be a match race between mixed student-teacher crews, with the Paolo Padova trophy up for grabs.

Mètis Vela will participate with two sustainable, high-performance skiffs: Aletheia, made of flax fibre and 45% lighter than traditional standards, and Ate, composed of 75% green materials such as balsa and flax. Both boats have been optimised for the race, thanks in part to the collaboration with North Sails and the use of the Sailtrack sensor system, updated with the Dinghy module for real-time data analysis.

Thanks to these innovative solutions, participation in the regatta is not only a sporting competition, but also a creative and technical workshop where students can put their design, engineering and sustainability skills into practice, combining learning and sport.

With the Mètis Vela project, the University of Padua renews its commitment to promoting sport, innovation and sustainability, offering students an educational experience that combines technical excellence, personal growth and collaboration between universities and young athletes.