Dutch Youth Regatta

The quality of tap water in the Netherlands is the same as the water sold in bottles. It is therefore very common to fill water bottles with tap water. The Dutch Youth Regatta is organized from a campsite. There are various facilities on the campsite with tap water that is used by participants to fill water bottles. We have a deposit system in the Netherlands for plastic bottles and cans. During the Dutch Youth Regatta, we placed special containers to collect plastic bottles and cans. The proceeds from the deposit were donated to charity.

You can no longer buy single-use plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws and cotton buds in the Netherlands since July 3, 2021. See the website form the Dutch governement. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/afval/vraag-en-antwoord/verbod-producten-van-wegwerpplastic#:~:text=Plastic%20bordjes%2C%20bestek%2C%20roerstaafjes%2C,medisch%20gebruik%20zijn%20wel%20verkrijgbaar.

You can no longer buy single-use plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws and cotton buds in the Netherlands since July 3, 2021. During the Dutch Youth Regatta, the sailors received a small sailor's meal every day, served in biodegradable sugar cane containers. The cutlery used is also made from biodegradable sugar cane. See the website form the Dutch governement. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/afval/vraag-en-antwoord/verbod-producten-van-wegwerpplastic#:~:text=Plastic%20bordjes%2C%20bestek%2C%20roerstaafjes%2C,medisch%20gebruik%20zijn%20wel%20verkrijgbaar.

We didn't use plastic bags during the event. All sailors received a large reusable bag upon registration to store their wet sailing clothing. The bag is very handy and the sailors use the bags all year round at other events.

We published a lot of messages about our sustainability efforts on social media. Attached you'll find a copy of some Instagram posts.

We served healthy apples from the local fruit-growing company Kutschruiter which is a "Planet Proof" certified fruit company.

The municipality's event permit states that we must have a green team. In addition, the municipality of Sudwest Fryslan, which granted the permit for the event, has a list of mandatory sustainability measures. The green team consisted of the following people: Valentijn van Duijvendijk - Secretary of the Dutch Youth Regatta Foundation volunteers from the Dutch 29er class organization Employees of sponsor WIndesign

We placed a lot of waste containers on the regatta area and in the event tent.

The entire event was organized paperless. The competitors registered online via de Dutch Youth Regatta website (https://dutchyouthregatta.org/registration/), We didn't hand out printed versions of the Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions. These documents were only available online. Notices and results were only published on the online Notice Board and result website and forms for crew/equipment substitution, and scoring inquiries were only digitally available after scanning a QR code in the Regatta Office. We did the sign-in/out of the competitors also via a digital form which was accessible via a QR code or a link published on the event Telegram channel.

We organized a beach/regatta area cleanup every event day. Participants could pick up a garbage bag and waste grabber every afternoon at the Windesign stand. When handing in the garbage bag, the participants in the cleanup received an ice cream from the restaurant and the participant who collected the most waste was rewarded with a present from sponsor Windesign. The children who collected the most kilos of waste during the event were asked on the podium during the prizegiving ceremony and received a Dutch Youth Regatta bag and event-shirt.