SuMoth Challenge

The SuMoth Challenge is an international student competition created and managed by the SuMoth Association (SuMA+) to advance sustainable boat-building practices at the frontier of high-performance sailing. This unique design competition challenges university teams to design, manufacture, and race their own foiling Moth-class boats — pushing the limits of performance while treating sustainability as a hard constraint, not a marketing add-on.

As Title Sponsor since the very first edition, 11th Hour Racing’s support is central to the challenge’s mission and operations

 

Visit the SuMoth Challenge Website

Initiatives Supported by 11th Hour Racing

  • Give university teams the opportunity to introduce sustainable, innovative, and creative designs and manufacturing methods to high-performance sailing, moving beyond traditional practices.
  • Provide participating teams with access and education to work with a Life Cycle Assessment tool (MarineShift360) to understand and quantify the environmental impact of their designs from cradle to grave.
  • Implement a zero-waste management plan to recover at least 70% of event waste through measurement, recycling, composting, and donation/reuse.
  • Prohibit participants from using single-use plastic water bottles at the event.
  • Increase operational capacity of SuMA+, enabling the challenge to support more teams globally.
  • Introduce the SuSkiff as a voluntary option — a skiff design that opens the challenge to teams for whom the Moth is too niche, broadening participation without compromising the innovation mandate.
  • Expand the SuMoth Challenge into the United States by engaging U.S. engineering schools, equipping the next generation of naval architects and marine engineers with practical, industry-relevant experience.

About the sponsorship

The SuMoth Challenge (SMC) is a pioneering, student-driven competition centred on sustainable high-performance applied R&D, innovation, foiling, and education. Teams are challenged to design, manufacture, and sail their own sustainable foiling Moth — giving the competition its name. The IMCA Moth is a high-performance hydrofoiling dinghy known for its advanced engineering and extreme sensitivity to design changes, making it a perfect sandbox for testing bio-based materials, circular design approaches, and low-impact manufacturing.

This three-stage competition (Design, Manufacture, Race) emphasises the use of sustainable materials and processes — particularly in fibre-reinforced composites — while addressing the real complexities of modern naval architecture. Teams strive to achieve competitive performance using alternative materials and innovative manufacturing techniques governed by the SuMoth Dollars cost system, where environmental impact carries direct competitive weight.

The 2026 SuMoth Challenge is the 8th edition of the challenge, and 11th Hour Racing as Title Sponsor of all 8 editions.