The city of Qingdao is emerging as one of the world’s great sailing venues. This is not through a lucky accident of being on the right place on the map, but through long term planning and a willingness to invest in both infrastructure, industry and sporting events that promote progress. The Extreme Sailing Series is the latest word-class sailing event to be hosted by the ‘sailing city’.

The Extreme Sailing Series, which is a modern, fan-centric, innovation in competitive sailing, visited China for the first time in 2011, and the results have been spectacular in more ways than one. The event delivered some of the most extreme sailing, and compelling media output of the series’ history.

In the last 15 years, the list of cities able to stage international sporting events has grown substantially as governments recognise the importance of using sport to showcase infrastructure, investment opportunities and promote tourism.

In the sport of yacht racing, the makeup of the list of cities that are able to deliver world class events has changed significantly. This is due to a shift in the relative economic power of different regions as well as commercial promoters looking for more than just favourable wind conditions.

Cities like Cowes (UK), Newport (USA), Auckland (NZ), Capetown (South Africa), Marseilles (France) and Rio (Brazil) have staged well known sailing events largely because of being in the right place or through tradition, but in 2011, the criteria for hosting a major sailing event like the Extreme Sailing Series includes a demonstrable willingness by local agencies to invest in

Like many countries where trade is a major part of the culture, China has a long maritime heritage, however the 2008 Olympic Games provided Qingdao with an opportunity to promote the sporting side of sailing to the world. As well as the Olympics, the city has managed to attract events like the Volvo Ocean Race and is the base for China’s America’s Cup entry.

The demonstrated ability of Qingdao to successfully deliver big sailing events, combined with a larger investment plan for the city, was one of the reasons that attracted OC Thirdpole, the organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series.

While the America’s Cup hopes to deliver $1.4 billion dollars of gains to the city of San Francisco in 2013, the coastal province of Shandong has an investment plan of $38.6 billion to develop an ocean economic zone.

The Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone will include programs for agricultural technology, new energy, international logistics, tourism and culture. 12 banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Shandong provincial government to support the plan.

Initiatives like the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone are bigger than just yacht racing, but events like the Extreme Sailing Series, are a great fit with a programme that has a goal to seek co-operation with businesses in China and internationally.

Rather than being complacent and trading of tradition, Qingdao is putting it’s money where it’s mouth is to focus on the development of a marine economy.

Creating an integrated programme that includes investment in infrastructure, tourism and culture gives Qingdao an edge over cities bidding for events based on their wind conditions alone.

Mark Turner, Chairman of OC Thirdpole, the organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series said:

When looking at where to stage events on a global tour, we have to consider a lot of things. Of course there has to be the right conditions for sailing, but the commercial considerations are incredibly important for us. The Chinese market is increasingly important for our partners and sponsors and there is also a growing appetite for this kind of sport by the Chinese people.

He added:

Qingdao has shown that it can stage huge events like the Olympic sailing in 2008. The Qingdao Volvo Ocean Race stopover was a great success and we are delighted to be able to stage the Extreme Sailing Series in China’s sailing city.

The Qingdao round of the Extreme Sailing Series was expected to be one of the most exciting and successful of the 2011 season, but the event delivered more than anyone could have imagined.

Day 3 of the regatta featured spectacular sailing action, with some of the world’s best sailors pushing the 40 foot carbon fibre catamarans to their limits in conditions right on the edge of the envelope for these boats. The Extreme Sailing Series lived up to it’s name with photos and videos of capsizes and crashes leading news bulletins around the world.

On the same weekend that the Chinese Grand Prix was delivering one of the most exciting and competitive Formula 1 races in a long time, China’s Sailing City of Qingdao was showing that it has what it takes to stage grand prix sailing events.

More Extreme Sailing Series News

Article first published as Qingdao, China’s Sailing City is Looking for Extreme Growth on Technorati.

The Extreme Sailing Series is consistently one of the top professional sailing events in the world. Over the past couple of years, OC Events (now part of OC Thirdpole), has built the series for Extreme 40 catamarans into a sports entertainment product that delivers results for sponsors, sailors and spectators.

If imitation is the best form of flattery, then BMW ORACLE’s decision to host the next America’s Cup in scaled up catamarans must be in part to do with the success of the Extreme Sailing Series.

On the eve of the 2010 World Yacht Racing Forum in Estoril, the Extreme Sailing Series will announce it’s plans for the coming year including the 2011 calendar. Expect new venues (not just in Europe) and some big names looking to develop skills in sailing fast and exciting multihulls.

For those not in Estoril, the press conference will be streamed live. You can watch the event on our dedicated Extreme Sailing Series News page.

It’s perhaps not surprising that Alinghi, a two time winner of the America’s Cup will not compete in the 34th edition of the yacht race.

Despite the Swiss team having good multi-hull credentials, the 2011 sailing program will not include the New Deal version of the America’s Cup as run by most recent winners – BMW ORACLE.

In a statement, the team said:

After a careful evaluation of the protocol and other initiatives taken by the American Defender and its Challenger of Record, Alinghi considers that the existing conditions make it impossible for the team to participate in the 34th America’s Cup.

Alinghi remains interested in the America’s Cup and will be closely following its developments in the coming months but for the immediate future it will concentrate its efforts in other world class challenges. The Extreme Sailing Series, a championship raced with 40-feet catamarans that is expanding geographically and commercially in 2011 whilst maintaining a truly level playfield and exciting competition, provides the perfect ground for Alinghi to develop its international sailing activity.

While the AC45 and AC72 are not built yet, and have no track record, the Extreme Sailing Series is a going concern that provides sponsors and teams a more solid sailing platform. Alinghi have won the Extreme sailing Series in the past, when it was called the iShares Cup.

To date, only 1 America’s Cup team other than the Defender and Challenger of Record have publicly announced their participation in the next event.

More America’s Cup News

New Owners for the Extreme 40 Class

OC Events, the promoters of the Extreme Sailing Series have announced the acquisition of the Extreme 40 Class from Tornado Sport. The deal means that OC will own the design and build rights for the boat which the Extreme Sailing Series is built on. The agreement also means that OC Events can create efficiencies by taking over the management of the class, technical support for boat owners including those competing in the ESS and boat sales.

“We are looking to expand and improve the Extreme Sailing Series on all fronts. With multi-format competition at top class venues of different types – city centres, ocean facing, rivers and lakes, top class race management and on-water umpiring, development of the outstanding B2B VIP experience that has been at the heart of the event since the beginning, and a bigger than ever entertainment package for spectators on the water and on shore including our Sailing Rocks™ gigs, the Extreme Sailing Series will be going up a level.

We have plans in place to expand the TV production and distribution, growing both the news service and the successful worldwide TV series, as well as the online content. We plan to expand the presence of other classes as warm-up acts, to both race and show-off, like the Moth dinghies and windsurfers this year.”

Whilst there is an encouraging amount of new team potential, existing teams that have helped grow the circuit will be given priority should the limit be reached. Other evolutions in the rules are expected to ensure that the team budgets remain under tight control, in the value-for-money commercially funded circuit.

“We have invested heavily in this event since 2007 with good reason. It offers an exceptional return on investment to all stakeholders, in particular, for the ever-improving quality brands that we already have as team sponsors. We shall be announcing some excellent new partnerships at venue, event and team level in the coming months.”

More Extreme 40 News…

The Extreme Sailing Series and Cowes Week have a tense relationship. Even though the Extreme 40 series has been to Cowes a number of times and adds an entertainment element that would otherwise be missing from the competitor based regatta, the catamaran event has been forced to play by Cowes Week rules to the detriment of their crowd-pleasing formula. In the beginning, the Extreme Series benefited from the media activity that Cowes enjoyed with a title sponsor, but now, the balance of power has probably shifted and Cowes Week perhaps gets more benefit more from having the OC Events run circuit next door than the other way around.

Despite having to fit in with a timetable imposed by Cowes Week management that saw hundreds of spectators watching Moth and windsurfer demonstrations while some of the best sailors sat in the hospitality tent, the UK round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series exceeded OC Event’s expectations both on and off the water. In a statement released late last week, organisers said:

In ‘Stadium’ sailing mode, the 12 to 15 minutes races delivered some of the most spectacular racing the circuit has ever seen, in front of an estimated total crowd of more than 60,000, every day the beachfront being packed over a full kilometre.

Visitors to Cowes had more choice for night-life this year. As well as the old pubs, London nightclubs Raffles and Mahiki added a welcome touch of glamour to the event and the Extreme Bar also proved a popular destination for visitors with a four-fold increase on 2009. Over 900 guests were entertained in the VIP lounge of the Extreme Race Village, many of whom were reintroduced to sailing from a new point of view.

The online following was boosted by dramatic action captured on video, including Groupama’s near collision with the sea wall that had the crew leaping for safety. That video alone has already been viewed over 40,000 times across youtube and other channels.

It remains to be seen if the Extreme Sailing Series will return to Cowes Week in 2011. While the event can probably stand on its own two feet, there are still some advantages to being part of the Cowes Week activity. For some media, Cowes Week is the only UK sailing event covered and having thousands of competitors who are sailing fans in the same place provides an audience that is ready-made. Perhaps the two do need each other, but as the Extreme Sailing Series grows, Cowes Week will have to change to accommodate the growing popularity of the Extreme 40 event.

More Cowes Week News..

Last week in Cowes, sailing fans got to see several forms of the sport side by side. Beside the amateurs, who disappeared off the start line into all corners of the Solent, was the 1851 Cup – an exhibition match for version 5 America’s Cup boats, the Artemis Challenge for the IMOCA 60 class and the Extreme Sailing Series.

Each of these events is designed for a different audience. the general racing is for competitors – participants who drive the grass roots of the sport. the americas cup also exists for competitors, just more wealthy ones – with spectators requiring sizable power boats to watch. On the other hand, The Extreme Series unapologetically places the spectators at the centre of their product offer.

Part of the product that OC Events is selling with the extreme series is a sailing format that rewards good sailors and punishes the smallest of mistakes.

There is a dark side of many spectator sports that tempts viewers to keep watching because there is a high risk of something going wrong. Just as a percentage of ice hockey fans want to see a fight or NASCAR fans want to see a wreck, the prospect of an extreme 40 flipping or breaking adds a different dimension to the sport of sailing that many other formats either fail to communicate or hush up.

Some may want to criticise the promotion of a 40 foot carbon catamaran sailing into a wall at 35 mph, but the 50,000+ Youtube views of Groupama’s accident at cowes week dwarfs viewing numbers of any other clip from the event. People are still talking about it, but they are also talking about the good news too.

I was asked again last week – “If you had a client with a decent budget, which sailing event would you place it with.” Like all good sponsorship consultants, my answer was “it depends” – because different sponsors have different objectives. However, the Extreme Sailing Series consistently delivers to its sponsors and partners and has aggressive plans for the future.

Regular readers will know that we have a problem with the phrase ‘the F1 of sailing’ because nothing in the sport currently comes close. But if the Extreme Sailing Series expands from its current European and Asian events into a couple more international markets, then the series may just be the platform to help sailing really go pro.

• @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 #

• 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 #

This weekend, tens of thousands of car enthusiasts will be at the home of the British Grand Prix, Silverstone, for a unique event. The Silverstone Classic combines a packed weekend of racing with concerts and other entertainment. Although the cars would attract huge crowds in their own right, organisers realise that by creating an entertainment experience, a wider audience can be reached.

Combining multiple forms of complimentary entertainment is used widely in sports where the focus is the spectator rather than the competitor and in 2010, OC Events, the organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series Europe will push the boundaries of sailing as an entertainment product under a new brand – “Sailing Rocks“.

Normally rocks are the last thing that sailors want to think about, but an eclectic mix of on-the-water action will be followed every evening by BBC Radio 1 / Bestival star Rob da Bank’s top choices of island-based DJs. On the 5th of August, the event will culminate with a set by Rob himself. He says:

‘Weirdly sailing and DJing are two of my favourite things in the world… so I’m very excited about getting back to Cowes to help kick start the party for the locals and the Extreme 40 crews. I’ve never sailed on such an exciting boat in my life and really believe sailing could be opened up to a lot more young people, which is kind of what I want to do with music and DJing. See you at the bar!’

While Cowes Week organisers have to cater to a broad audience in the Yacht Haven, the positioning of the Extreme Sailing Series allows OC Events to aggressively go after a different crowd. As well as the music, the Extreme end of town will add demonstrations in the art of ‘on the water flying’ by a line-up of talent including Simon Payne, the Moth World Champion and a team of pro windsurfers.

It’s a shake up that should showcase sailing as something different to those who are there to watch, and hopefully the balance can be kept between sport and travelling circus.

More Cowes Week News…

The Defender of the America’s Cup BMW ORACLE will test both monohull and multihull boats using a series of TV trials over four days in Valencia. The aim is to develop methods for making the racing more enthralling for fans, more challenging for crews and better portrayed on television screens around the world. It’s an interesting process, but focussing on the hardware might not find the solution – assuming we know what the problem is.

The trials, July 22-25, will help confirm certain parameters of the new yacht, including reduced crew numbers to place a premium on boat-handling. Not only will the format of racing and type of boat come under scrutiny, but also television production.

The America’s Cup Media Evaluation Team has solicited opinions from a wide array of broadcasters, digital media and technology companies in Europe and the U.S. on how to make the racing more dramatic on-line, on-screen and on TV. Accepted standards of Cup racing are being challenged in the trials and no thought will be ignored in the quest to create the most compelling television production and delivering it to the widest-ever audience.

It’s an interesting process. Many sports have adapted their original format in order to attract a different audience. Twenty-Twenty cricket is the complete opposite of a 5 day Test match and Rugby 7′s opens up the game and makes it quicker, but neither of these formats have replaced the original version at the top level. The Ashes is still a series of 5 Day tests and the Rugby World Cup uses the full complement of players.

This week, the 150 year old Open Championship is being broadcast on the BBC in the UK. Only the most die hard fans care what clubs or balls are being used. The sport is popular because of the personalities – the stars are the players. Personally, I don’t find golf the most interesting televisual experience, but organisers haven’t felt the need to play with the format too much. The Open has a facebook page with over 12,0oo fans and hundreds of men and women are tweeting about the event.  The Open doesn’t see the need to make the game of golf any more interesting or ‘extreme’.

Nevertheless, BMW ORACLE are going to test the waters – literally, to see how the America’s Cup might be able to be made ‘better’. Russell Coutts says:

“We are testing many different concepts. Would making the first leg downwind instead of upwind be better? Can you have exciting boat-on-boat action with multihulls? Are there alternative race course formats which might provide more overtaking opportunities?” “Only by reviewing the accepted wisdom can we decide if there are smarter ways to challenge crews and excite fans.”

The trials will be conducted with two pairs of X40 catamarans and RC44 sloops. 3D and HD cameras will be experimented with to see if the onboard action is more dramatically portrayed, and the race format testing will include downwind and reaching starts.

Guest helmsmen such as Roman Hagara of Austria and Murray Jones of New Zealand will lead the crews aboard the X40s. James Spithill will be at the helm of one of the two RC44 yachts. They will race short-handed, eight-person crews to see if that adds a level of drama to boat handling that would be compelling for television.

More America’s Cup News…