We Expect Big Things From the America’s Cup on September 13th.

BMW ORACLE have announced that they will announce some announcements on the 13th of September. The defender of the America’s Cup and the Challenger of Record will make public a new and exciting America’s Cup boat class and reveal the protocol to govern the 34th edition of the event at a press conference in Valencia.

Speculation has been rife over the last few weeks that BMW ORACLE has chosen multihulls as the preferred boat for the next cup. While the defender is promoting the change as the result of open talks with all parties, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of public support for multihulls amongst traditional Americas Cup players.

The America’s Cup has always been about the defender creating rules that maximise their chances of retaining the trophy. BMW ORACLE have been cleverly using the promise of billions of dollars of TV rights money and the specter of recent court battles to push a boat rule that gives them an R&D head start of several years over their competitors.

The Defender’s line in the media has been that the America’s Cup has to appeal to a young television audience. While most would agree with this principle, the degree to which you have to change the event is very much up for debate.

TEAMORGIN’s Iain Percy wasn’t pulling any punches on where he stands as a sailor. Taking aim at those who would change sailing to appeal to ‘Generation Y’ (with a side-swipe at the Extreme sailing Series, and bankers) he said:

“I can say though that ‘toss a coin TV show racing’ is not my cup of tea. I have nothing against people doing it, I even have friends who are bankers, but for me it isn’t sport. Competitors in any sport need to have a primary and totally overpowering goal of winning by being better than the opposition, that is what separates boxing from WWF wrestling. That is why grown men cry at a football match and only adolescent teenage boys (who haven’t yet discovered girls) like Hulk Hogan. So that’s how I answer my fundamental question: that sailing needs to be a fair challenge of physical, technical and tactical abilities over a series of races.”

Percy goes on to blame the media for pushing a commercial agenda saying:

Other groups use serial bloggers to represent their point of view…

We’re sure that Iain wasn’t talking about yachtsponsorship.com, but we are quite happy to stop reporting on the ‘Race for Change’ and other TEAMORGIN commercial partnerships if we are somehow compromising the sport by doing so.

Percy is right though – that the America’s Cup is about money. It is either private money, coming from wealthy individuals like TEAMORIGIN backer Sir Keith Mills or BMW ORACLE’s Larry Ellison, or it is money generated by the sport. Whoever is funding it, the cup has to be packaged up and sold.

On the 13th of September, BMW ORACLE will announce a decision that will have massive implications for the sport – one way or another. If they are making a change for the future, and not just because it helps them retain the cup then we expect big things.

We expect that the defender can show real numbers to back up their decision. Real numbers in this case doesn’t mean that potential team owners voted 10-8 in favour of multihulls.

We expect that the anonymous TV executives that are quoted by Russell Coutts have done some quantitative research into the Americas Cup audience and can show that the Generation Y segment will generate more ratings, more advertising revenue and higher lifetime value than the installed (but latent) fan-base.

We expect that there has been some 3rd party polling that shows television audiences, given a choice between basketball, x-factor and the America’s Cup sailed in catamarans,  would choose the latter – at least for the organiser’s target demographic.

We expect that those who are the current custodians of the America’s Cup have tried everything they could to maintain the integrity of the product so that it can stand alongside classic sporting trophies like The Ashes, Le Mans, the Rugby World Cup, the Ryder cup or Wimbledon – events that haven’t diluted their format.

We expect to hear teams that have invested heavily in the sport, through events like the Louis Vuitton Cup, the Audi Med Cup and the World Match Racing Tour,  in order to stay together through the last America’s Cup cycle come out in public support of the new Boat Class rule.

We expect, whatever is decided, that not everyone will be happy. The America’s Cup is dead – long live the America’s Cup.

More America’s Cup News….

Jaguar’s Sponsorship of America’s Cup Style Sailing Delivers.

The 1851 Cup surprised me. Initially I was sceptical about the exhibition match between TeamOrigin and BMW ORACLE to commemorate the original race around the Isle of Wight that became the America’s Cup, but having experienced the event last week in Cowes and having seen the coverage that was generated for the sport in non-sailing press, it was a resounding success.

Perhaps most surprising of all was the action. While the Defender (the challenger seems to be MIA) continues speculation about competing the 34th America’s Cup in a multi-hull, the version 5 boats provided exciting action in the strong Solent breeze.

The 55 mile ‘Around the Island’ race could have been a rather dull affair, but James Spithill and Ben Ainslie raced it as if they were on a 1 mile match racing course. Added to the aggressive match racing tactics were ripped spinnakers and broken spinnaker poles and sailing on the very edge of the envelope that the boats were designed for.

Perhaps sensing that the race would not deliver the picture perfect finish, the rules were rigged in a NASCAR style agreement that had many followers totally confused. Apparently both teams agreed that if one was too far ahead at a certain point, they would restart with a one minute time penalty to the boat that had been behind. To the non-sailing guests that I was with, it made a bit of a mockery of the whole thing. Comparisons with WWF wresting were made, which is hardly the kind of perception you want to give newcomers to the sport.

The other downside was that the racing took place so far offshore. This is partly because of the amount of water needed to sail the boats and partly because Cowes Week gives priority to the other races. Like many of the America’s Cups of the past, the action could only be followed by boat. Although images were beamed back to a shoreside screen with live commentary augmented by ‘Virtual Eye’ 3D animation, the event doesn’t come close to the spectator experience provided around the corner by the Extreme Sailing Series.

No doubt, Jaguar’s opportunistic sponsorship of TeamOrigin for the event would have delivered a pretty decent ROI. It remains to be seen whether the deal will last longer than the ‘Summer of Sailing’. Many of the sponsorship decisions related to the America’s Cup will be put on hold until key information is released – including where the events will be sailed.

More America’s Cup News…

A Week of Sailing Business Thoughts for 2010-08-09

• @nickmoloney There’s hitting the wall and then there is hitting the wall nick see you on Wednesday! in reply to nickmoloney #
• @markchisnell sail 4 gold is next week?? That arrived fast! Might be tough to get there – too much on. in reply to markchisnell #
• Bright sunny morning in cowes. great to catch up with the guys from the even keel project and @PRPETA last night. #cowesweek #
• http://tweetphoto.com/36599111 There’s a giant at the helm #artchal #
• 1851 cup. Who the fuck cares? @TEAMORIGIN @bmworigin2010 #
• Sorry about a tweet that seems to have been published from our account last night. Investigating. #
• First up today – news from the velux 5 oceans race, then off to see the extreme 40s in action later #cowesweek #
• 2 British skippers announced for the velux 5 oceans race. The eco 60 concept combined with a stopover based race makes a lot of sense. #
• Who’s at cowes and would like to Win a signed Ben Ainslie book? /via @hlmarine #cowesweek #
• lots of aggressive match racing tactics going on between @TEAMORIGIN and @bmworacle2010 in the 1851 cup. Looks like ben’s come out on top. #
• http://tweetphoto.com/36963422 the cup that all the fuss is about. #
• Surprised by the action at the 1851 cup. @BMWORACLE2010 clear winners twice thanks to NASCAR-esque restart. #
• Looking at photos and video content from 2010 #cowesweek including super cool extreme 40s and surprisingly engaging 1851 cup #
• @markchisnell According to our sources, the WSTA is dead! #LVT #
• Seems that this new Twitter ‘Who you should follow feature’ is delivering us a lot of new followers – Welcome! #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — Dee Caffari At the 2010 Artemis Challenge at Cowes Week http://youtu.be/q7FPmbwSwG8?a #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — Extreme 40 Sailing Series – Cowes Week 2010 http://youtu.be/lcXaXvs882M?a #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — 1851 Cup Featuring BMW ORACLE and TEAMORIGIN http://youtu.be/Op3GJJxyPU8?a #
• Some photos from #Cowesweek at our facebook page: http://bit.ly/9aU0vP – Includes Artemis Challenge, 1851 Cup and Extreme 40s #

Sailing Stuff from Twitter 2010-08-09

• I uploaded a YouTube video — 1851 Cup Featuring BMW ORACLE and TEAMORIGIN http://youtu.be/Op3GJJxyPU8?a #
• Some photos from #Cowesweek at our facebook page: http://bit.ly/9aU0vP – Includes Artemis Challenge, 1851 Cup and Extreme 40s #

Jaguar Sponsor TEAMORIGIN for a Summer of Sailing

As auto makers strike to position themselves as environmentally sustainable brands, another car manufacturer has announced a sponsorship deal in the sport of sailing. Jaguar will join TEAMORIGIN for a summer of sailing starting with the 1851 Cup in Cowes next week. The event which recreates the original America’s Cup race around the Isle of Wight also sets up a race between competing luxury car brands with the American team being sponsored by BMW.

The partnership, which will be described as ‘TEAMORIGIN racing with Jaguar’ comes under the umbrella of the Jaguar Academy of Sport, which aims to recognise, celebrate and inspire the very best of British sporting talent and success.

The deal helps Jaguar strengthen its environmental credentials, not only through the associations of a wind-powered sport, but also through signing up to TEAMORIGIN’s ‘Race for Change’ which compels partners of the team to adhere to strict environmental goals monitored by the Carbon Trust.

Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal, TEAMORIGIN, commented:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jaguar as our partner. There is a superb fit and alignment of purpose between TEAMORIGIN and Jaguar. Jaguar is clearly one of the most revered and iconic British brands and, just as Jaguar is now taking on and beating the best in the automotive world, so our mission is to take on and beat the best in the world on the water. The fit is further enhanced through our shared commitment to improve our environmental performance.”

Geoff Cousins, Managing Director, Jaguar UK commented:

“To partner with TEAMORIGIN is a fantastic opportunity for Jaguar. We are looking forward to the first appearance this summer at the 1851 Cup event, an exciting competition, which will see Britain’s best sailing talent compete against the current holders of The America’s Cup. It’s a mouth-watering prospect and one we are proud to support. This is a serious British endeavour, which fits perfectly with the recently launched Jaguar Academy of Sport, which is all about investing in the future of British Sporting talent.”

TEAMORIGIN’s newly branded livery will appear during Cowes Week and will feature striking Jaguar branding on both the hull and sails. The spinnaker will feature a Jaguar leaper in Union Jack Motif, the symbol of the Jaguar Academy of Sport.

Ben Ainslie, Skipper and Helmsman of TEAMORIGIN,commented:

“TEAMORIGIN’s goal is to win the America’s Cup for Great Britain, to achieve this we need to engage the support of like minded partners. In Jaguar, we can see great synergies where they share our passion for sport and competition at the highest level.”

More Automotive Sailing Sponsorship News…

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