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…

President Gilmour Speaks About the WMRT and the LV(W)S

I’ve got a great idea. There’s this worldwide sporting event that does quite well. Has some sponsors, has good media coverage and backing from the governing body. If we got some good drivers together we could do something similar, with open-wheel style cars. We can have some street circuits and some track circuits and we could call it Formula World Uno. Of course it is not a great idea because if I tried to do anything like that, the FIA and the current rights holders of Formula 1 would only have to look in my direction to kill the whole thing dead.

But sailing is not motorsport and ISAF isn’t the FIA. In fact, the world governing body is considered so irrelevant to entrepreneurial promoters, that it seems they can create an event and not even ask ISAF if it’s okay. In an interview with Valencia Sailing, the new President of the World Match Racing Tour, Peter Gilmour revealed publicly that the recently announced Louis Vuitton (World) Series has no rights to use the word World in the title or to make the claim that it is the premier match racing event in the world. These rights are protected by a contractual arrangement between ISAF and ProMatch Ltd.

Though the two events are probably good for each other and sailing, it is quite amazing that the Louis Vuitton event could get so far down the track without entering into a dialogue with ISAF or the World Match Racing Tour. Either the WSTA were naive to the contractual rights granted to ProMatch – which is unlikely, or there was an arrogance that assumed that ISAF would just roll over and accept the new event as proposed.

The relevant part of a much longer and far reaching interview is here:

Valencia Sailing: This is, more or less, the same message Louis Vuitton and the World Sailing Team Association wanted to convey in their presentation in Paris 2 weeks ago. They want to build a top-tier professional match-racing series around the world. They call it the LV World Series and even the format is quite similar, since teams race in boats provided by the organization. Can you comment on that?

Peter Gilmour:

The situation with the LV Series is, in our opinion, very clear. Essentially, the exclusive rights to use the word “World” and be the premier match racing series or tour in the world, outside of the America’s Cup, have been given to ProMatch Tour Ltd. This is very clear and unequivocal. Obviously, the LV proposed series got going without consideration for that and they didn’t even talk to ISAF beforehand. I understand ISAF has written and asked them not to proceed using the words “World Series” and they haven’t received any approval. We plan to meet with Louis Vuitton and the WSTA people in about a week’s time and it really comes down to our right to sanction them, if we so wish. That’s really pretty much where the situation is. We haven’t received anything from them, no information whatsoever. Right now it’s wait and see.

New World Sailing Series Announced By Louis Vuitton.

As many predicted, long time America’s Cup sponsor (sorry, partner) have been working on an expanded version of the successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series held in Auckland at the beginning of 2009. The series has strong support from well funded teams however there is bound to be fallout for other professional series.

The new tour will be called the Louis Vuitton World Series, but the organisational structure is based on those in other successful pro-sports with the competing teams forming the WSTA (World Sailing Team Association).

Ten teams will be invited to confront each other in successive duels over a fortnight on two pairs of identical boats chosen by lot. The racing boats were sailed in the 2007 LV Cup.  This concept, which demonstrates the desire to return to the original spirit of “match racing”, provides an exhilarating show and is easy for spectators to understand.

Ten teams will be invited to confront each other in successive duels over a fortnight on two pairs of identical boats chosen by lot. The racing boats were sailed in the 2007 LV Cup.  This concept, which demonstrates the desire to return to the original spirit of “match racing”, provides an exhilarating show and is easy for spectators to understand. The WSTA and Louis Vuitton plan to organise several regattas a year. Many cities of which Nice, Hong Kong, Auckland, New York and several other European venues have shown their interest.

In  a statement issued by Louis Vuitton today, America’s Cup challenger teams like K-Challenge (France), BMW Oracle Racing (USA), Emirates Team New Zealand, Mascalzone Latino (Italy) will be joined by Artemis (Sweden), Team Synergy (Russia), Joe Fly Italia (Italy) and Team French Spirit (France).

The news is good for sailing, though series like the RC44 and Audi Med Cup may suffer as teams like Artemis and Emirates Team New Zealand are unlikely to compete in both events. It should be good for the World Match Racing Tour, which is a well proven development environment for America’s Cup style match racing helmsmen and crew.

Many of these things have been announced before and have never happened, but one imagines that with Louis Vuitton’s backing and event gurus like Bruno Trouble on board, the new event has a good chance of success. A press conference will be held in Paris on Tuesday the 8th of September where more details will be released.

Now.. where do we file this?

Louis Vuitton World Series Shows Promise.

A fascinating article from Richard Gladwell, writing for Sail-World about a new sailing World Series backed by long time America’s Cup sponsor (sorry – partner) Louis Vuitton. Our initial reaction to news like this is – do we really need another sailing competition? but it would seem that a lot of good thinking has gone into the concept, using existing events to create a progression for teams whose ultimate goal is the America’s Cup. Here are some of our highlights of a much longer article.

An final decision is still pending on an extension of the highly successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, which will introduce a new world series of sailing regattas using America’s Cup class yachts. Already several meetings have been held with 12 teams from 10 countries being present at one discussion. The shape of the new series is expected to be a combination of recent developments in the America’s Cup, Louis Vuitton Cup, Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, and the Acts sailed in 2005 and 2006 sponsored by Louis Vuitton.

For the first time in the America’s Cup’s 158 year history there is been no Defender essentially controlling how the Challengers can operate in the buildup to the next America’s Cup and the unique opportunity is now there to set up a new game.

The most likely shape of this new competition would appear to be an extension of what was tried in with the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Auckland. Namely a ten team regatta, maybe 12, using two pairs of America’s Cup yachts from 32 AC.

The first venue in the series is expected to be Hong Kong, in January, followed by Auckland in February or March. Two more regattas are expected to be held in 2010, and it is believed at this stage, that Valencia will not be a venue. One of the venues could be in Africa, and Newport, USA is believed to be a strong option.

Louis Vuitton and their long time emissary, Bruno Trouble, are believed to be the drivers behind the ambitious project. A considerable amount of work has gone into the project, which is a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for the America’s Cup family. It was Louis Vuitton who picked up the initiative for the Pacific Series, staged as a celebration of one of the longest running sponsorships in sport, but clearly as a test of a future event.

What the World Series will do is create a new layer of competition that will sit between the World Match Racing Tour and the America’s Cup. This layer, coupled with the supplied boats nature of the competition, will allow new teams to form out of the WMRT and go up the next stage into the World Series, and if they can achieve the results at that level, then they can go into a full America’s Cup program with some confidence.

Obviously from a sponsor viewpoint, backing a new team for a couple of years on the World Series, to see how they go is going to be a lot more attractive than ponying up for a full blown America’s Cup program. So the entry cost into the America’s Cup will be substantially lowered, and teams will be able to build a track record of performance without incurring a massive design and boat program overhead. The cost of competing in Auckland was about USD250,000 per team for the three weeks. While this is not insubstantial, with proper venue selection it should be possible to provide a good return to sponsors. A key to this will be the availability of coverage and use of a web graphics package such as Virtual Eye, on public release, as well as using the same Virtual Eye package for TV, will be a key to the take up by the major networks. International coverage of these events offers huge scope for both television and the internet – far beyond what was possible given the short notice of the Auckland based Louis Vuitton Pacific Series.

Additionally, the organiser’s ability to take the World Series into different continents around the world gives some alignment with other major sporting events, but at greatly reduced relative cost (compared to say Formula 1). Previously any America’s Cup build up series has been limited to one city or one venue or one continent. moving an event between continents does generate interest in the local event and that interest remains for following venues in the same series.

The numbers of spectators at the recent stop overs of the Volvo Ocean Race, should not be lost on sponsors and promoters of the World Series, with up to 500,000 expected to pass through the village at Stockholm. The recent announcements made by the Volvo Ocean race organisers are clearly aimed at making the event more attractive to more professional racing teams – providing certainty around dates and venues.

The Volvo Ocean Race, with professional forward thinking management and an inclusive style is a serious threat to the old type America’s Cup organisation. A new way forward is required, with a professionally organised global event. Louis Vuitton and Bruno Trouble have the record and are currently without peer in this regard, but a green light from both sides in the 33rd America’s Cup is preferred, but maybe not required.

Read the Full Article here…

How Many ‘America’s Cup’ Events Can Sailing Support?

Every sport has politics. But few sports are as fractured as the sport of yacht racing. The promotion of sailing events is more like boxing or music tours than organised leagues. The reason is that anyone with a bit of cash and an idea can start a sailing event. You can set up an event, even if it is pretty much the same as an existing event – which on the one hand means more sailing opportunities, but also leads to more fragmentation and cannibalisation of an already complicated ‘industry’.

Take the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series – a new event that has been widely hailed as a great success. Conceived to give America’s Cup teams something to do, and to give thier extremely patient sponsors some exposure while the New York court decided their fate, the LVPS is now ‘free’ to build on the momentum created by the first event.

The promoter of the LVPS, Bruno Trouble said to Sail-World in NZ:

‘We would love to continue and organize a few Louis Vuitton Series type regattas, either outside or as a complement to the America’s Cup circuit’

We also have to convince many of the newer teams, who need the experience and exposure, that this is the way to go until the America’s Cup is really back on track.

On the face of it, this sounds like a great idea, but there is already a sailing event set up to prepare America’s Cup teams for the big race – the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). Admittedly, the WMRT is sailed mostly on smaller boats with only 5 crew needed, but the concept of learning match racing skills and delivering value to America’s Cup team sponsors is sound. Similarly, the RC44 series includes match racing and several America’s Cup teams compete in that series to gain experience and exposure. This year, the Audi Med Cup will see Emirates Team NZ compete in a TP52, a big boat that allows the team to stay together and practise away from the America’s Cup.

So why create another new event? The answer is Louis Vuitton’s approach to sponsorship. In fact, sponsorship is a dirty word to the luxury goods company. They prefer partnership or better still, complete ownership of the platform. Sponsorship is one of the reasons Louis Vuitton’s relationship with Alinghi soured. Trouble says that any future involvement would depend on the nature of the relationship:

‘If we are only a ‘’sponsor’’ paying the bill ( as we were in 2007) it will be a firm ‘’NO’’. If we are included in the organisation the way we were for 20 years ( 1983/2004 ) then we might be back.’

Title sponsorship, or ownership of an event is great for the marketing department of the brand in the driving seat. It is no accident that the iShares Cup for eXtreme 40 catamarans is held in iShare’s top European markets. When done right, all sponsorships are partnerships – built for the mutual benefit of the sport and the brand.

Bruno Trouble and Louis Vuitton have shown that they can deliver a great event that benefits the host city as much as the sponsor. The first LVPS was held in the southern hemisphere when the America’s Cup teams had little to do, with no conflicts with any other commitments. If the concept is to be expanded, then the organisers need to carefully consider the impact on existing events.

In an interview with Seahorse Magazine, Alinghi skipper Ed Baird, competing in the World Match Racing Tour for the first time in several years said:

You can’t do it all. We hope to do the majority of the (WMRT) tour events this year, but it has a lot to do with the outcome of BMW ORACLE’s lawsuit… Our goal is to prepare for the Cup. If the Cup is going to be monohull based, match racing, then the Tour is the right place for us to be.

Hopefully then, Bruno Trouble and Louis Vuitton will think about the wider implications of expanding the LVPS or something similar. If America’s Cup syndicates are forced to choose between regattas, then there will be knock on effects for all.

Sailing really needs to sort out these issues. Calendar conflicts, fragmentation of formats, multiple similar events competing for scarce sponsorship budgets, canibalisation, egos, politics, the complete abscence of control from the governing bodies. It will take someone like Louis Vuitton to try and create some common goals. It will also require some promoters to stop being so precious about ‘their’ events.

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