Rebelle Rally Team Offering Free Race Engineering Workshops for Girls

Girls who are interested in engineering subjects can find potential opportunities to learn daunting because of the lack of like-minded female participants. It is the same for many women in racing, which was the inspiration for the women-only Rebelle Rally.

The Rebelle Rally is an 8-day off-road adventure contested annually by 40 teams of women through the desert wilderness of Nevada and California. Now, non-profit Athena Racing and one of those rally teams, Team Ponderosa, hope to help boost interest from girls with a free online workshop series.

Team Ponderosa driver Erin Vogel and navigator Sara Swenson will coach middle- and high school-age girls 9-17 in a variety of racing-related topics over a series of Athena Racing-hosted workshops over five weeks. The aim is to provide female students with mentors and real-world examples of careers that women can pursue in technology and racing.

The weekly workshops commence Sept. 8, and registration for participants ends Sept. 5. Students will need their own email and Zoom accounts to register for the workshops.

The topics covered will be:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Learn what it takes to bring a team together to prepare for 10 days in the wilderness. Planning, budgeting, packing, prepping the vehicle. All of the items that you have to imagine and prepare for before you leave on your trip.

RALLY NAVIGATION

Imagine trying to get from Point A to Point B with only a compass and a paper map. Does it seem impossible?  Maps can be your friend, Sara Swenson will lead a session on basics of navigating, map reading, how to pick a route, and how to orient yourself to make sure you are heading in the right direction for your next adventure!

RALLY RACING

Driving the line and hitting the perfect apex is the goal on a road race course, but what happens when you go off-road? The rules change! Hear from pro race car driver Erin Vogel how she is going to translate her road racing skills and understanding of vehicle dynamics into success in the dirt, rocks, and dunes.

PACKING & SEND-OFF

Help us cheer our team to victory. Team Ponderosa will show us what they packed and how they fit all the necessities into their Jeep. With only a few days before the Rebelle Rally begins, this is our chance to talk about the last-minute preparations.

RACE RECAP

Every business woman and athlete knows that a review of the race is how you refine and get better. Team Ponderosa will take us behind-the-scenes to show us what the race was really like – the confidence builders, the challenges, and the long nights under the stars.