THE LARGEST SAILING RACE IN THE WORLD
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
Trieste, 1 - 12 October 2025
Barcolana - News24.10.22
#WomenInSailing - Cristiana Monina
It was a last-minute Barcolana for Cristiana Monina, an Italian sailor whose profession is to organise corporate events related to sailing experiences. “We seized the opportunity to sail on the ‘CleanSport Too’ VOR 60 and in one week we gathered sponsors, managers, entrepreneurs, and friends and managed to work a miracle and finish 20th, on a boat that is lived in but still performing well. It was a great satisfaction,” she said.
Cristiana Monina is a professional sailor, skipper, team manager, spokesperson, television commentator and journalist. She has participated in two ocean crossings and two Olympic campaigns and has won a European title in the Laser Radial class and two Italian titles in the Yngling and Match Race Olympic classes. Her current job is planning training projects that include sailing in their coaching process.
“I have turned sailing into a job, and I am really pleased with that. Nowadays there are more and more women sailors working at a high level but often occupying secondary roles. This is apparent in the America’s Cup, where the only women who are part of a team hold positions on land rather than on board. Furthermore, economic recognition in sports in general — and in sailing as well — is unfortunately not equal between men and women.
Personally, I am very satisfied with my achievements over all these years of sailing. There are still many miles to go, but young women sailors today are sailing in the right direction.”
Cristiana Monina's face has been known to the general public since 2000, when she starred in a series of TV commercials set on sailing boats for telephone service provider TIM. She then worked in television in 2007, as a commentator on the race course of the 37th edition of the America's Cup in Valencia for the broadcaster La7. She experienced sailing in the first person, told about sailing, and taught sailing with an eye to corporate goals and team building: “In 2012 I obtained the 'Certified SFERA Coach' qualification in business, life and sport from the International Coach Federation, as a result of a training course based on an in-depth knowledge of mental training and performance improvement in the field of sport, life and business — this is where my profession began,” she said. Starting here, she began to organise sailing-related events that aim to entertain, involve, train people and promote networking all around the Mediterranean: from simple team building to a more complex training process, from business matching to off-site meetings, from relational marketing to incentive events, from sporting events to sponsorships, the world of sailing becomes a way to communicate. “Sailing is an excellent metaphor, a perfect communication tool: we should continue to use it, as it also serves the purpose of Women in Sailing, that is women's empowerment,” she added.
Cristiana Monina is a professional sailor, skipper, team manager, spokesperson, television commentator and journalist. She has participated in two ocean crossings and two Olympic campaigns and has won a European title in the Laser Radial class and two Italian titles in the Yngling and Match Race Olympic classes. Her current job is planning training projects that include sailing in their coaching process.
“I have turned sailing into a job, and I am really pleased with that. Nowadays there are more and more women sailors working at a high level but often occupying secondary roles. This is apparent in the America’s Cup, where the only women who are part of a team hold positions on land rather than on board. Furthermore, economic recognition in sports in general — and in sailing as well — is unfortunately not equal between men and women.
Personally, I am very satisfied with my achievements over all these years of sailing. There are still many miles to go, but young women sailors today are sailing in the right direction.”
Cristiana Monina's face has been known to the general public since 2000, when she starred in a series of TV commercials set on sailing boats for telephone service provider TIM. She then worked in television in 2007, as a commentator on the race course of the 37th edition of the America's Cup in Valencia for the broadcaster La7. She experienced sailing in the first person, told about sailing, and taught sailing with an eye to corporate goals and team building: “In 2012 I obtained the 'Certified SFERA Coach' qualification in business, life and sport from the International Coach Federation, as a result of a training course based on an in-depth knowledge of mental training and performance improvement in the field of sport, life and business — this is where my profession began,” she said. Starting here, she began to organise sailing-related events that aim to entertain, involve, train people and promote networking all around the Mediterranean: from simple team building to a more complex training process, from business matching to off-site meetings, from relational marketing to incentive events, from sporting events to sponsorships, the world of sailing becomes a way to communicate. “Sailing is an excellent metaphor, a perfect communication tool: we should continue to use it, as it also serves the purpose of Women in Sailing, that is women's empowerment,” she added.
