Trapani To Host Extreme Sailing Series for Two Years.

Venues for high end sailing events are important. Larry Ellison, commenting on American TV over the weekend, suggested that the America’s Cup was worth a billion dollars to Valencia (AC32 and AC33 combined?), but all sailing events bring a set of economic benefits including a wider brand exposure for the town or region, not to mention hotel room nights and sports tourism dollars spent in resturants and local shops.

Spanish host venue of  the Extreme Sailing Series in 2009 – Almeria carried out an Economic Impact Report in 2009 confirming that the event had generated 2.7m Euros of return on their investment. Over 75,000 spectators attended the Spanish event in 2009, boosting the combined audience to over 200,000 spectators in 2009. A total of 15,000 tourists visited the city over the period of the 2009 Almeria event, 92% because of the event and 80% of visitors expressed their intention to return. Hotel occupancy was up by 19.2% compared to the same period in 2008.

Trapani, on the west coast of Sicily (Italy), will be one of the new venues for the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series Europe. The Provincia Regionale di Trapani has committed to an initial two-year agreement and will provide financial, logistical and operational support as Host Venue Partner. The event will take place in the very heart of the port of Trapani, right in front of the public and VIPs and just metres from the shops, bars and restaurants of the town.

The issue of venues and the sport of sailing is a complicated one. One the one hand, sailing events are not tied to a stadium which can be a large investment that cannot be moved. On the other hand, a stadium provides operators with ticket revenues and gives fans a sense of security and place. The model of touting the event to the higest bidder has to be weighed against the disruption to long term continuity of the calendar. If sailing is to ever appeal to a wider audience, then events need to happen in the same place at the same time every year, year after year.

OC Events, the organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series, have created some momentum with their calendar despite the series only being 3 years old. Kiel and Cowes in particular have become events that fans put in their diary 364 days before the event. OC Events have also got a deal with Almeria Spain for 5 years, which gives stability and continuity to teams, sponsors and fans, but several venues for the 2010 season are still unconfirmed.

Gilles Chiorri, Race Director of OC Events says:

“To confirm Trapani as a new destination for the Extreme Sailing Series circuit, is another great development. Trapani became well known to the sailing world when it hosted Acts 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup series in 2005 and left a lasting impression as the city opened its arms to the sailing world with thousands of public supporting the event. We are looking forward to bringing the Extreme Sailing Series to this location and hope that we will be welcomed with the same enthusiasm and support that was clearly demonstrated in 2005.”

The Extreme Sailing Series Trapani event will be the penultimate event to the 2010 circuit over 23-26 September. The President of Provincia Regionale di Trapani, Mr. Girolamo Turano commented:

“2010 will be a great year for Trapani as we host top nautical events including the Garibaldi Tall Ships regatta in April and the Extreme Sailing Series in September. We have followed the success of the Extreme Sailing circuit over the past three years and are delighted to be hosting the penultimate round in 2010 – the beautiful waters and strong winds will no doubt provide an excellent situation for the top international teams, racing right in the heart of our harbour: perfect for spectators.”

Included in the logistical and operational support package are technical area and moorings for the Extreme 40 fleet, a race village with public attractions, Media Centre and VIP Lounge by the Piazza Garibaldi, race management and media boats, discounted accommodation for the teams, marketing and promotional support and personnel.

For more information on the Extreme Sailing Series Europe click here: www.extremesailingserieseurope.com

Extreme Sailing Series Europe 2010 Open For Entries. Calendar TBC.

For the last few years, professional commercially backed sailing as a media friendly event has had two stand-out performers – the Volvo Ocean Race and the Extreme Sailing Series Europe (previously known as the iShares Cup). The Extreme Sailing Series Europe (ESSE) has all the elements to make it attractive to sponsors, media and a more mass-market audience. The boats are fast and exciting to watch, the races are held close to shore against unique backdrops, some of the sport’s top sailors compete and innovations like the 5th man VIP position have been copied by several other sailing events to give sponsors a real differentiator from sitting in a stadium.

Yesterday, the ESSE issued their notice of race and opened the event officially for entries. Of a potential six races, five are yet to have specific venues attached to them and only one (Andalucia) seems to be the same as 2009. In an environment where sponsors are risk-averse, consistency of events and locations is key to providing long term stability. With the absence of a title sponsor and an unconfirmed calendar, the ESSE will be a harder sell in 2010.

With or without a title sponsor, OC Events have shown that they can put on great events. Just as the company is self-funding the embryonic Asian series, the ESSE can still deliver exciting sailing. Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group said in the statement:

“We continue negotiations with various potential main partners to support our long term plans for both the European and Asian series. However, securing new partners before the European season kicks off is not absolutely necessary and won’t affect our plans for 2010 – this year will be another spectacular season of Extreme 40 racing, racing that continues to change the way sailing is seen. We are keen to grow our original brand – Extreme Sailing Series – regardless of developments on the sponsor front as we go through the year.”

One of the ways in which the ESSE is trying to be more sponsor friendly is to change the rule relating to branding of the boat and sails. The sail branding rules have been amended one step further for the season, as planned when the 2009 50% branding rule was introduced. Race Director Gilles Chiorri said:

“Looking back through the photographs and TV footage from 2009, it was clear that the boats with their sails 100% branded were the most dynamic and stood out amongst the fleet, therefore we have introduced a new rule for 2010 that all boats’ mainsails shall be 100% branded, so that there is no penalty on the teams already doing this.”

Notably absent from the proposed calendar is Cowes Week (Though one of the proposed dates does fit). Mark Turner has publicly said that the destination on the Isle of Wight where OC is based is not economically viable for the Extreme Sailing Series. Commenting in Island Business Online Turner said:

“The business model doesn’t work without venue host deals for us. We are investors, always have been, we take risks, we do things a bit quicker than perhaps a bigger business might do, or whatever. So we’ll quite often start and kick start things if we’re in the right venue. But its not sustainable to continue with venues that don’t necessarily want us there.

“The average each of our events contributes (to a venue) is a seven figure sum into that economy, be it through direct spend, be it through media coverage, be it through developments that happen because of the high quality people we’re bringing into the circuit. In terms of the Cowes event specifically being inside Cowes Week we’re looking at something like two-thirds of the media coverage for the entire Cowes Week is coming from our event. That in itself has a direct impact on what Cowes Week can do in the future as well.”

Despite the professionalism and commercialism that OC Events brings to sailing; not being able to announce a full calendar makes it difficult to convince sponsors that ESSE is akin to a high-end motorsport series or any other competing sponsorship platform. The markets in which the events take place have a huge bearing on whether or not the sponsorship is a good fit with a brand.

In order for ESSE and other sailing events to be taken really seriously, there needs to be long term storytelling consistency. The dates needs to be in the diary every year. Same Extreme 40 time, Same Extreme 40 channel. With many European companies closing off sponsorship budgets at the end of November, the announcement of a partial calendar in late January increases the level of difficulty by a significant factor.

The calendar as announced yesterday looks like this:

There will be  five, possibly six event weekends at iconic venues and cities in locations including the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

• Event 1: 27-30 May  – LOCATION TBC
• Exhibition Event: 19 June: J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
• Event 2: 14-18 July OR 31 July to 5 August – UK – LOCATION TBC
• Event 3: 26-29 August – Germany – LOCATION TBC
• Event 4: 9-12 September – LOCATION TBC
• Event 5: 23-26 September – LOCATION TBC
• Event 6: 9-12 October, Almería, Spain

Final venues will be announced one by one over the coming weeks.

Despite question marks over the calendar, the ESSE still provides one of the most compelling marketing platforms using sailing. OC Events will continue to provide a full PR and Media programme throughout 2010 including a host broadcaster service, TV news and a TV series for global broadcast media. The 2009 series delivered a media value for just the six territories the series visited, of over EUR5 million (despite a 10-15% drop in equivalent advertising rates) and the 6-part TV series was aired in 130 countries across 29 international networks resulting in 38 hours of TV programming in one month.

Off the water, the teams, sponsors, media and VIP guests will be hosted and entertained in bespoke hospitality facilities offering teams the opportunity to mingle with their guests before and after sailing in a choice of settings, from general access to made-to-measure private corporate entertainment suites.

The closing date for entries to the 2010 series is 15 March 2010.

Holmatro Ends Backing of Extreme 40 Team

One of the earliest and biggest supporters of the Extreme 40 has ended its backing of the class. Holmatro has officially announced to end their Extreme 40 campaign with Team Holmatro.

In a statement, the company said:

After a great number of successful years, the contract with Tornado Sport has ended. For a company with so much passion for the sailing sport, it’s a difficult decision not to extend this contract, especially since the campaign has been successful for Holmatro in various ways.

The sailing sponsor activities of Holmatro started in 2002 with the sponsoring of a sailing team under the expert guidance of skipper Hans Horrevoets. After a great number of wins, Holmatro got closely involved with a new one-design class: the Extreme 40 catamaran. The first Extreme 40 was built for Holmatro with Holmatro hydraulics and winches on board. After the Volvo Ocean Race 2005/2006, Tornado Sport and OC Events developed a new European sailing series: the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series. A promising event with action, attraction and addiction. The class brought sailing close to the public and therefore was a perfect platform for sponsors and their relations.

CEO Jaap Meijer says:

‘We look back at a very successful campaign for Holmatro as a company, in which we have achieved our targets and goals in many ways. The campaign generated a lot of publicity and feedback on our products, but also provided us with the opportunity to speak to our important relations at every event in a very comfortable, though professional environment. The combination of meeting the sailing team, sailing on an Extreme 40 with our hydraulics and winches, plus the setting of the event, created a very suitable spot to bring people in contact with the people and products of Holmatro.’

The company thanks all those who were involved. Team Holmatro sailed with a great number of top skippers and sailors, such as Mitch Booth, Andreas Hagara and Carolyn Brouwer. This resulted in a great number of wins and top-threes.

iShares Cup Looking for New Title Sponsor for 2010.

We’ve held up the iShares Cup as one of the great examples of how the sport can be shaped into a platform to deliver real results. As well as providing a great return for sponsors, the Extreme 40 European series has brought the sport to a wider audience and provided economic benefit for the venues hosting the events.

OC Events, the company that organises the Extreme 40 series in Europe has officially announced that title sponsor of the event, iShares will not be continuing their backing in 2010. Nevertheless, the series will be back next year, with negotiations underway for a replacement for iShares.

iShares signed a two year renewal at the beginning of this year, a time when banks and financial institutions were under extreme pressue to justify their sponsorship decisions. Unlike many sponsorships which rely on a connection between senior executives and the sport, iShares had no emotional attachment to sailing and so were able to show that the investment in the iShares Cup was purely commercial.  The deal included a 10 day window exit clause following the final event of the season and the aquistion of iShares from Barclays by BlackRock Inc is cited as the reason for the company taking the break option.

Rick Andrews, head of iShares marketing, Europe, commented:

“With a change in company ownership of iShares coming on 1st December, we are unable to commit to the sponsorship of this event in 2010, and we have had to use a break clause in our 2 year contract with OC Events.”

iShares success may impact on OC Event’s mission to find a replacement. The company were partners in the event’s formation, influencing the markets that the series visited and creating the platform to achieve their specific objectives. iShares will benefit from the title sponsorship for a while to come, just as Skandia still benefits from their long term backing of Cowes Week. Until a replacement sponsor is announced, one imagines that it will be easier to refer to the event as the iShares Cup than the Extreme Sailing Series Europe. Rick Andrews doesn’t think it will take long for someone to step up and replace them as title sponsor:

“The iShares Cup has been a phenomenal success for iShares and it is with much sadness that we have been obliged to make this decision. Client response from surveys has been phenomenal. They are just absolutely blown away by lots of different elements. However, we are confident that such an outstanding property will not be on the market for long – the value for money, the exceptional client experience and the return on investment from this property have really helped propel iShares forward, and I am sure that OC Events will be able to capitalise on our experience with a new partner shortly.”

One imagines that Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group, one of the sport’s most commercially savvy operators will have had some contingency for this outcome. He said in a statement:

“Disappointing of course, but this is the world of commercial sponsorship – the Extreme Sailing Series concept will continue to be developed in Europe next year, along with all the stakeholders that have shared the success of 2009 – teams, sponsors and host venues. We have built up a benchmark sailing sports entertainment product, at the highest sporting level, providing excellent returns for all concerned. Fortunately the event now has many stakeholders and many different revenue streams, so while we will obviously bring in a new title sponsor for 2010, things are very different to 2007 when the title sponsor represented nearly all the income. We have team sponsors, host venues and other event partners already contractually committed through as far as 2012. The Extreme Sailing Series will be back in 2010, and we plan for it to be even bigger and better.”

OC Events also announced yesterday that the The Extreme Sailing Series Europe 2010 has confirmed three venues and five teams. The platform has shown that it can provide real value to a title sponsor, though while OC Events have been investing in an innovative product, sponsorship values have been falling steadily throughout 2009. It’s a buyers market, with sports like F1 that were previously out reach for some brands now offering deals previously unheard of.

Perhaps though, Mark Turner is looking to break the mould again for sailing. The sport is dominated by sponsors who use it to market to other organisations (B2B). For sailing to really get visibility amongst a wide audience, it has to be seen as a way that brands can promote their products and services to consumers. Turner said in the official statement:

“…we can also see this as an opportunity to bring in a more consumer focused brand as title sponsor to help us take it to the next level again. We now have the scale and reach to deliver for consumer facing brands as well as those more focused on business to business.”

Extreme 40 Format Heads to Asia.

It was only a matter of time before the Xtreme 40 platform concieved by Herbert Dercksen and brilliantly executed by OC Events spread from Europe to other markets. The format was tested in the Middle East last year and yesterday, the company announced that a “winter” series would be run from November to March in Asia.

Extreme Sailing Series Asia will visit Hong Kong, Singapore and Oman with the possibility of a fourth venue to be confirmed. The plan is to grow to a six-event series by 2011/12. Bids have already been received for the future series from a number of other venues across Asia.

After the spectacular finale of the six-stage European iShares Cup circuit last weekend in Almería (Spain), five of the boats were packed up to be shipped directly to Hong Kong.

Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group:

“The iShares Cup has been running very successfully for three years now in Europe and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this exciting sailing format – a format which has become a benchmark in terms of changing the way sailing is seen. Our aim is to build this series each year on the same foundations on which the European iShares Cup has been built – a comprehensive sailing entertainment event that packages the sport to appeal to the public, media and provide experiential VIP client hospitality. For this inaugural series in Asia we won’t be focused on the public side directly, instead we will work hard on the VIP and media aspects, as we did in the early iShares Cup years. But, of course, our aspiration is to build this circuit up over the coming years to match the award-winning iShares Cup format including a strong public element.”

The first event in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia will take place over the 20th-24th November in Hong Kong, supported by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, to coincide with their annual ‘Around the Island Race’ on the 22nd November. With over 200 entries the Around the Island Race is Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event. The RHKYC is well equipped to support the series given its long time presence in Hong Kong waters as the premier sailing club.

The circuit will then move on to Singapore from 11th-15th December where sailing has become synonymous with sporting excellence in the region, after multiple medal success at the Asian Games and the ISAF Youth World Championships. One of the country’s key objectives is to make Singapore a key hub for sailing competitions.

Muscat, Oman will host the third event over the 1st to 5th February just before the America’s Cup in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, subject to the current legal dispute. The Sultanate of Oman, home to the legend of Sindbad, is known throughout the Gulf for its spectacular beauty and hospitality. The two Oman Sail boats that finished in 1st and 3rd place in the European 2009 iShares Cup, will return to the Extreme Sailing Series Asia this time with two Omani recruits from the Oman Sail Academy on board as part of the crew.

The inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia will see the same high calibre of competitors currently competing in the European circuit with Olympians, World Champions and Record Holders battling it out for victory in this new territory.

For further information, please email info@extremesailingseriesasia.com

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