Eight Teams To Compete in Auckland Louis Vuitton Trophy.

12 months ago, the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series was an experiment. On the other side of the world, in New Zealand, in what would be considered neutral ground (were the vast majority of both remaining America’s Cup teams not Kiwi),  ten teams, including the current Challenger and Defender of the America’s Cup, competed over two weeks in a match race regatta in two pairs of supplied boats. The boats used were ACC yachts from the 2007 America’s Cup and all teams rotated through the four boats.

It was to become the formula for the Louis Vuitton Trophy. In 2010, the LVT will replace the vacuum left by the America’s Cup shambles, but it remains to be seen what will happen to it if any certainty is restored as a result of the Deed of Gift match in Valencia next week.

Even though the Louis Vuitton Paciffic Series was relatively hastily arranged, it was enough of a success to lead to the formation of the World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) who, along with the city of Auckland will organise the regatta from 9-21 March. The Louis Vuitton Trophy will be part of a larger aquatic festival, staged from the same venue and at the same time as the Auckland International Boatshow (10-14 March) in Auckland’s Downtown Viaduct Basin.

The WSTA member teams entered for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland regatta are from seven countries. Unlike last year, the host Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Dean Barker, will not get an automatic pass to the regatta finals, but will have to earn the right to be there by passing through the round robin and semi final stages with a winning record. The seven other teams hoping to also make it to the finals and ultimately prevail are:

• Aleph (France, skipper Bertrand Pacé)
• All4One (France/Germany, skipper Jochen Schumann)
• Artemis (Sweden, skipper Paul Cayard)
• Azzurra (Italy, skipper Francesco Bruni)
• Mascalzone Latino Audi (Italy)
• Synergy (Russia, skipper Karol Jablonski)
• TEAMORIGIN (Great Britain, skipper Ben Ainslie)

The press release for the Auckland event also includes media value numbers for the event held in Nice in November last year. It is an interesting comparison to the numbers issued by the Extreme Sailing Series Europe (ESSE) last week.

OC Events had their entire series of six events valued at €5.9 Million by an independent agency. According to the WSTA, the single Nice regatta had a provisional media value  of over €9 Million. The WSTA number relates to 1200 articles (versus 894 for ESSE) and 354 hours of TV (versus 535 for ESSE).

The two organisations obviously use very different mechanisms to value their media return. Both can be rationalised, but such discrepancies make it hard for outsiders to make informed judgements about investments in the sport.

More information about the Auckland round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy here…

Louis Vuitton Trophy Announces Events in Growth Markets.

Thanks to ALL4ONE for providing great up to date information on the emerging series that is the Louis Vuitton Trophy. The French German Team are one of the most pro-active when it comes to providing information to partners and stakeholders, including the media.

Yesterday, the enigmatic World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) and Louis Vuitton announced four new events to take the series through until January 2011. The concept will build on the successful recent event in Nice; designed to transform a port venue, regardless of its previous sailing culture, into the capital of professional yacht racing for two weeks, along with all the associated activities and excitement, on and off the water.

The calendar visits the new growth markets for sailing, which are also large and growing markets for Louis Vuitton.

• Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland: 9 – 21 March 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena, Sardinia: 22 May – 6 June 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy Middle East: 13 – 28 November 2010
• Louis Vuitton Trophy Hong Kong: 9 – 24 January 2011

In a statement, newly-elected WSTA board Chairman Paul Cayard commented:

“The Louis Vuitton Trophy is gaining momentum following the great regattas held in Auckland and Nice in 2009 and I really believe 2010 is going to be an even better year for our teams, their crews and supporters.”

Jochen Schümann, ALL4ONE’s Sports Director and Skipper:

“Great to have a reliable schedule for Louis Vuitton Trophy events, after the success that was met in Nice Côte d’Azur in November 2009. ALL4ONE is already planning another overall crew training for February in Valencia on ACC boat, in order to prepare an upcoming busy season as one platform for four challenges with the Louis Vuitton Trophy events, the TP52 MedCup, the RC44 circuit and the World Match Racing Tour.

Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton said the team welcomed Louis Vuitton’s return to Auckland:

“Last February we tested the concept. Its success far exceeded everyone’s expectations.” The Louis Vuitton Trophy has emerged from that experiment as a viable, top-level regatta. It’s good for the teams, it’s good for the sport, it’s good for host cities and we’ve given the fans something to watch.”

The Middle East venue has been embargoed until January 15th, 2010.

Auckland Combines Three Events into the Festival of Sail.

One of the sessions at the World Yacht Racing Forum, which we haven’t covered in detail yet, focussed on the economic returns to venues of hosting sailing events. Yacht racing is lucky to be seen by tourism authorities as being able to bring attention and visitors to a place. But racing on its own might not be enough to bring the crowds. Combining events together helps to maximise the investment in promotion and infrastructure as well as expose sailing to a wider audience.

Selling a visitor experience is different to running events where the competitors are the only stakeholders considered.

Auckland is a city where sailing is as recognised as other sports. The city has invested heavily in developing the waterfront which is home to the country’s America’s Cup team. There is also a sense that relevant government agencies, investors and the sport all work together to create events that deliver the most return for all stakeholders.

Against this background, Auckland Mayor John Banks has announced the Auckland Festival of Sail – three major international regattas to be held on the Waitemata Harbour in March 2010. Mr Banks says:

“Not only is this great news for Aucklanders with another festival added to the summer events calendar, it’s also great news for businesses, especially those in the hospitality, tourism and marine sectors. Major events are important economic drivers especially during the tough times that we are currently experiencing. Securing this festival in Auckland is another step on our road to establishing the city as a desirable international events destination and we look forward to welcoming the world’s best sailors to our shores next year.”

The managing director of Emirates Team New Zealand Grant Dalton said the three regattas, combined with the Auckland International Boat Show, will provide three weeks of top-level action right in the city.

“When the idea of the Auckland Festival of Sail was first raised, many groups came together to really put on a show for Auckland and New Zealand. We have worked closely with Auckland City agencies, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Louis Vuitton, the World Sailing Teams Association and many other organisations and individuals to make it happen.

Scott Colebrook, commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, says the Squadron is proud to be undertaking an integral role in the Auckland Festival of Sail.

“As the organizing authority of these three significant events, running back to back, we will be placing huge demands on our volunteer race and boat management personnel and resources. With assistance from Bucklands Beach Yacht Club we look forward to our contribution to this marvellous combination of high profile regattas featuring the world’s best yachtsmen and teams that will showcase our City of Sails to an international audience.”

We’ll be writing up the discussion around venues from the WYRF in the next couple of days.

Emirates Team NZ Launch New TP52

When I was a kid growing up in Australia, I never realised how lucky I was to live in a country where the news media considered almost all sports as equal. A typical news bulletin of 30 minutes would include at least 10 minutes of sport and although there was bias towards the local brand of football, there was also coverage of horse racing, golf, tennis, motorcycle racing, V8 supercars, swimming and sailing. Sometimes, if the local competitor had done something extraordinary, like win a world championship, the story would lead the news.

Emirates Team NZ have launched their new TP52 and are trialling it around the harbour in Auckland, the same waters that recently hosted the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. To the Kiwis, an America’s Cup team is still largely a national team – not just a group of multi-national mercenary guns-for-hire. Therefore news about the team’s activity warrants space on news television, keeping sailing top of mind in the mass market.

Here’s the report from TV NZ…

The new TP52, which will compete in the Audi Med Cup in 2009 is training against newly launched TP52 Artemis.

Emirates Team New Zealand was designed by the ETNZ design team, while Artemis is from the Judel/Vrolijk board. The hulls for both were built by Cookson Boats, with sails by North Sails NZ and spars by Southern Spars.

A Regatta to Remember – the LVPS in Print.

One of Yachtsponsorship.com’s friends – Lynn Fitzpatrick has teamed up with Jürg Kaufmann to produce a book of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series. While our digital record will sit in the blogosphere, there will be a place for this kind of yacht racing product for a long while to come.

Lynn writes:

Within hours of the prize giving for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, a 120-page coffee table book with a foreword by regatta organizer, Bruno Troublé, will be available for distribution.

With just the right balance of prose from sailing journalist, Lynn Fitzpatrick, and eye-popping photos from photographer, Jürg Kaufmann, the book is the perfect keepsake for everyone attending this historic match racing event in Auckland, NZ. For those who were not present for five days of practice and 16 days of exciting match racing between world renown skippers, helmsmen, tacticians and crew from 10 teams representing 9 countries, this photo journal allows you to live vicariously.

Auckland loaded up its summer schedule with the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, a regatta extending over three weekends, and numerous other events. Everything from the largest single day regatta on the planet, to an ISDF world championship, to a superyacht regatta, to Auckland’s Anniversary Day added to the frenetic activities in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin. Legendary sailors, VIP’s and fans mixed and mingled at what has been dubbed “The Friendly Games”.

Order your book(s) online at www.RegattaBook.com

About the Collaborators

Lynn Fitzpatrick – American sailing journalist, Lynn has been a competitive sailor for decades. She makes it a point to know the sailors, the boats and the venue at every regatta she attends and watches for shifts in the lead just as astutely as competitors track lifts and headers. Wherever she goes, she tries to raise the profile of sailing and sailors and broaden others’ awareness of our rising stars and sailing as a pastime, sport and catalyst for waterfront development.

Lynn’s articles appear in lifestyle and travel publications as frequently as they do in sailing and yachting journals. Lynn has competed in and covered national, hemispheric, world championship and Olympic regattas for years.
Lynn works for individuals, corporations, classes, regatta organizers, teams and developers.

www.worldregattas.com

Jürg Kaufmann – Swiss photographer Jürg Kaufman has been photographing seascapes and sailing events for over a decade. Jürg travels the world as an International Match Racing Umpire and International Judge. With a keen eye toward anticipating intense situations developing on the racecourse, Jürg knows when to have his camera loaded and ready to record the maneuvers and sequences that tell it all.

From rigging up at the Olympic Sailing Regatta to rounding a mark at the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, Jürg’s images follow landside and on the water activities and capture the essence of competitive sailing.

Jürg works for sailing teams, race organizers and commercial and private sponsors.
www.go4image.com

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