by Lars Lundov and Thomas Capitani
In a world of global social media the legacy of international sporting events is no longer just about what it does for the host city or country, but also what it does for the sport worldwide, Sport Event Denmark’s chief executive believes.
It is the ‘ask not what sport can do for your country, but what your country can do for sport’ rallying cry that governing bodies across the world say is most important to them.
“To develop the sport and expand the numbers of viewers and participators and make them more global must be a key aim,” Lars Lundov, the chief executive of Sport Event Denmark, says.
“We always try to add something extra into our bids. In general we have a very strong governmental support both on a central and local level. But when we are talking about hosting the event in the traditional way with those guarantees, we are also trying to add something extra for the rights holder. For instance, with the new technology of tracking for sailing and the way that is combined with social media for the spectator.”
That golden thread of innovation has been part of every bid Sport Event Denmark has launched and the results are that 2011 will see some of the biggest sports events ever in Denmark; the UCI Road World Championships and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
They are the pinnacle of much broader base of World and European championships in other sports. They will also come at a time after Denmark has thought big in small events and had the chance to experiment and refine new technologies to use in the higher pressure environments.
One of the biggest sources of waste and criticism for large events around the world is the closed, proprietary technology that is often so long in the planning that it is out of date by the time the event starts. But Denmark has focused on integrating open media - twitter, facebook, youtube - that everyone is using already for free. Newer, free live streaming platforms such as Bambuser have augmented this.
“Social media makes that six degrees of separation possible for sailing,” Thomas Capitani, executive director of Sailing Aarhus, says. “It works for events that would never be televised. And even if we make only three degrees of separation, that’s still half the world.“
It means that Capitani, who is planning the suddenly spotlighted A-Cat World Championships this summer, is confident that they will be able to handle the increased exposure and demands of an event which was much smaller in 2008 when they won the bid. The change to catamarans from monohulls in the America’s Cup has meant the world’s best sailors have gravitated towards the A-Cat class as a means of training.
“James Spithill (The leading Australian America’s Cup helmsman) asked for wildcard last week,” Capitani reveals, “and the Australia A-Cat championships (in January), which are often seen as a barometer for the World Championships, had some of the biggest America’s Cup names.”
Aarhus is a prime example of the Lundov legacy vision. As one of the four host cities for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, it will be able to demonstrate and build on the unusually strong bonds between the city, the sport federations and the university. But it will also have a chance to showcase to a wider audience the technical innovations it has made, which in turn will make even a sport as widely followed as football more accessible. It is that sort of experience that Aarhus hopes will win them the bid for the 2014 ISAF World Sailing Championships with sailing hoping and needing to grow globally to remain in the Olympic programme.
“One of the advantages we have in Aarhus is that we are working together with the university,” Capitani says. “Now we are not the only ones working with the new technology sailing, but most sail event organisers are working with private companies, who have mainly commercial interests and only want to use their existing set-up. Whereas, Rasmus Johnsen (of the social enterprise body Active Institue) and his team at the university are not afraid of testing out new things.”
Johnsen sees 2011 as a turning point for showing that the technology made in Denmark is making sport not only more viewable, understandable and sharable, but also affordable.
“We have built a strong network that we will hopefully be expanding in 2011 to a Nordic co-operation, initially with knowledge institutions and businesses from, respectively, Gothenburg and Oslo,” Johnsen says. “It is becoming ever easier and cheaper to collect, process, present and share large amounts of data, which in turn means that the basis for exposing sports is changing radically. Every sport has an opportunity to redefine itself in terms of how to expose and communicate the action. This has gigantic potential, especially for sports that are hard to follow.”
That is the mixture of global and local legacy that Lundov believes must be at the heart of all sport events.
Dansk Sejlunion
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Banque Populaire V: ETA back in Lorient 9h-9h30 CET Sunday
Banque Populaire V. Image copyright B. Stichelbaut/BPCE.
Tweet 5 hours ago from Brian Thompson on board Banque Populaire V:
Just sighted first land since leaving Ushant 28 days and 14,000 miles ago. Tranquil, beautiful last 50 miles to Lorient. ETA 9am local.
Banque Populaire V
RORC Caribbean 600: Hotting Up in Antigua
Start of the 2010 RORC Caribbean 600. Image copyright Tim Wright.
by Louay Habib
The Antigua Yacht Club is buzzing with excitement, with less than three days to go to the start of the 600-mile race around the central Caribbean. Yacht crews are busy at work making final preparations for the RORC Caribbean 600.
Falmouth Harbour is an impressive sight with the RORC fleet safely moored up next to the yacht club.
Piet Vroon's Ker 46, Tonnerre de Breskens the RORC 2010 Yacht of the Year arrived just before dusk on Friday. The delivery crew, all six of whom will also be racing, endured a thousand mile beat to Antigua from Jamaica. "This will be our fourth and final event in the Caribbean," explained Piet Vroon. "This is the first time that I have done this race and it is the main reason that we came to the Caribbean. All of my crew said that this is a race that they want to do and I am very much looking forward to it."
Tonnerre is one of three boats that competed in the Pineapple Cup, the opening rubber of the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series. George David's Rambler 100, Richard Oland's Vela Veloce and Hugo Steinback's Dubois 90, Genuine Risk also competed in the Pineapple Cup which Genuine Risk won on corrected time. Vela Veloce is a Southern Wind 52, which cleaned up in Key West race week in January.
Yachts representing 15 Nations have come to Antigua to compete in the 600-mile spectacular but none have come as far as Chris Bull's Cookson 50, Jazz. The canting-keel flyer arrived in Antigua on Friday, having made an epic journey by container ship and sail from Australia, after a fantastic performance in the Rolex Sydney Hobart.
"It's been hard work getting the boat here from Australia but we have done it, which just goes to show it is possible." Commented Jazz Boat Captain, Anthony Haines. Jazz's journey started on January 8th from Sydney Australia to Savannah, Georgia. After which the delivery crew sailed 1400 miles to get Jazz to Antigua on time.
"Ever since the RORC conceived the idea of this race I have wanted to do it" said Chris Bull on he dock in Antigua. "I am also keen to do the Transatlantic race and try and win the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series which I think is an excellent initiative which the RORC are involved with."
From Lithuannia the Volvo 60, Ambersail debuts in the Caribbean and counts veteran round the world sailor Magnus Olsen in their crew. Ambersail is well travelled having competed in last year's Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland and the Rolex Middle Sea Race.
OnDeck's Farr 65, Spirit of Minerva counts solo-sailor Hannah White amongst the crew. "Effectively there are 10 legs and well over 600 miles of racing in fantastic trade wind conditions, which I am sure will be a strong test for navigators and crews in equal measure." Commented Hannah.
Six Class 40s are expected, possibly more, Tony Lawson's Concise and Gonzalo Botin are past and current Class 40, world champions. Tony Lawson, owner of Concise expects a close duel with Tales. "There is no doubt that the Spanish team will be fast, and possibly more suited to lighter conditions but I am confident that the team on Concise will be fully focused and they are in control of a quick, well prepared boat."
RORC Commodore, Andrew McIrvine has chartered the elegant and powerful 154 ft schooner, Windrose of Amsterdam. The crew has taken the magnificent yacht though its paces, spending two days practicing manoevres."It is a very different kind of sailing to my First 40." Commented Andrew McIrvine. "The sheer size of the sails and equipment make for extremely physical work and manoevres are far more complex. Communication from front to back is only possible by hand signals. We had some good pressure during our practice session, which confirmed that Windrose is a powerful yacht, literally built for Caribbean sailing."
Brian Benjamin's Carbon Ocean 82, Aegir has been out testing sails and the crew, visiting the top part of the race course all night Friday. Night sailing makes up close to half the time during the race. Boat captain Shreda Duke confirmed that the exercise was very successful in bedding in the crew to their proposed watch-system. Aegir's navigator for the race is Ian Moore on loan from the Oracle America's Cup Team. Moore concurs with Hugh Agnew, ICAP Leopard's navigator, the prediction of stable trade wind sailing but added "The first key area of the race may well come as night falls. Aegir should be approaching Nevis at dusk and the first really tricky part of the course. The islands of Nevis and St Kitts are high, which will throw out quite a wind shadow through this area; there will be a lot of gear changes in between the lulls and puffs of acceleration. The big decision from a navigator's point of view will be how far off the leeward side of these islands to go"
In Falmouth Harbour, the air temperature is a balmy 27º C and a fair breeze is flowing in from the northeast, meaning that the trade winds are functioning, but it's an ever-changing picture. Read John Burnie's expert summary on the RORC Caribbean 600 web site.
ICAP Leopard set the monohull course record in 2009, completing the course in 44hr 5min 14sec and Mike Slade's team believe that they could beat the record although they may not be the first home. George David's stunning Maxi, Rambler 100 is dockside in Falmouth and are favourites to take line honours. George David has secured the assistance of Ken Read to the afterguard and some of Ken's Puma Volvo Ocean Race crew. It is the first time that these two 100 foot canting keel maxi's have raced each other with ICAP Leopard having taken an interesting strategy and dropped their rating considerably, in a bid to gain handicap honours.
Local interest comes from Bernie Evan-Wong who is doing the race for the third time in his Mumm 36 `High Tension'. From Guadeloupe there is a Class 40 `Territoires Attitudes' skippered by David Ducosson.
34 boats are expected on the start line on February 21st February.
RORC Caribbean 600
ICAP Leopard undertakes final preparations ahead of the Caribbean 600 race
ICAP Leopard and Blue Pearl. Image copyright Tim Wright.
by David Fraser
At 1100 (local time) on 21st February, ICAP Leopard, the record breaking 100ft super-maxi racing yacht owned by Helical Bar PLC chief executive Mike Slade, will cross the start line of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s (RORC) Caribbean 600 race at English Harbour in Antigua. Having set the, as-yet, unbeaten course record of 44 hours and 5 minutes in the 2009 inaugural race, the team are working to prepare the boat for the multitude of challenges that the race presents. The 605 mile course will see ICAP Leopard weave its way through the 14 islands of the central Caribbean.
Slade will be joined by co-skipper Clarke Murphy from New York. Together they will lead a crew of vastly experienced offshore talent, including top Volvo Ocean Race sailor and former Green Dragon Bowman Freddie Shanks (GBR), Volvo Ocean Race and Ericsson 4 sailor Guy Salter (GBR) on the bow and former Puma Ocean Racing Watch leader, Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) as Tactician. Other notable members of the crew include former GBR America’s Cup sailor Ian Budgen and veteran navigator Hugh Agnew.
ICAP Leopard crew. Image copyright Tim Wright.
Speaking about the conditions expected during the race, Tactician Rob Greenhalgh said: “The weather is quite changeable at the moment. The Caribbean has been experiencing an intensely dry season for the last few months and we have recently been experiencing severe squalls. These squalls produce intense rain combined with strong winds which, if used advantageously, will really boost our chances of beating our previous record.”
“The RORC Caribbean 600 is both physically and mentally challenging for all taking part” said skipper Mike Slade. “Weaving between the islands, we face varied winds and muddled seas which add to the excitement and challenge of the race. These testing conditions, coupled with the stunning scenery and beautiful weather, make this race one of my favorites in recent years. This year we face some stiff competition from other boats in the super-maxi class and the crew will have to be on top form, working speedily and precisely, to gain and maintain the lead. Fast and steady will win this race.”
ICAP Leopard
RORC Caribbean 600
Friday, 18 February 2011
Extreme 40: A Plethora of America's Cup Crews and Kiwi Accents in 2011
The Wave, Muscat, the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series champion training off Oman. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Oman Sail.
by Anne Hinton
Whereas there was just the odd Kiwi accent (e.g. Fraser Brown or Andrew McLean) on the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series, until the participation of the three-quarters Kiwi crew of Emirates Team New Zealand at the final event in Almeria, they will be heard throughout the fleet in 2011.
Andrew McLean, with Mike Golding, on ECOVER Extreme 40 in 2010. Image copyright Anne Hinton - all rights reserved.
Emirates Team New Zealand's participation has again seen probably the least practice time in the fleet, potentially putting them on the back foot in Muscat, as coordinated crew work is extremely important in X40s. A training camp for many of the teams has been running for the last month in Mussanah, Oman, but Emirates Team New Zealand only came in at the very end of this.
Emirates Team New Zealand also has two different crew members from their participation in Almeria. Skipper Dean Barker and bowman Jero Lomas are, this time, joined by long-time Emirates Team New Zealand trimmer James Dagg, and their cat coach, also ex-BMW ORACLE Racing coach, Australian Glenn Ashby. Whereas Ashby is a multihull world champion and Olympic medallist, Daggy has no previous experience of Extreme 40 sailing.
Brad Webb of Team GAC Pindar. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/BMW ORACLE Racing.
ORACLE Racing's Brad Webb, Jono Macbeth (who crewed for Shirley Robertson on Extreme 40s in the past) are also former Team New Zealanders and have Kiwi accents to complement Ian Williams' British accent aboard Team GAC Pindar; BMW ORACLE Racing's Gilberto Nobili completes that crew. Team GAC Pindar has, like Emirates Team New Zealand, had less practice time than many others.
Jono Macbeth of Team GAC Pindar. Image copyright Gilles Martin-Raget/BMW ORACLE Racing.
Artemis Racing has an entry of its own with Terry Hutchinson in the driving seat, and Kiwis Morgan Trubovich and Sean Clarkson, plus Aussie bowman Andy Fethers, in addition to a presence on Red Bull Racing.
Artemis Racing has another sailor aboard Roman Hagara's Red Bull Racing, and Austrian accents will be diluted by Kiwi in the form of Artemis Racing's Star boat sailor Craig Monk (who is also currently doing an Olympic campaign with Hamish Pepper - Southern Star Racing) and British sailor Will Howden (ex Tornado Olympian, who sailed on the ECOVER Extreme 40 in 2010), as well as Hagara's former Tornado Olympic partner Hans-Peter Steinacher.
Luna Rossa. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images.
Max Sirena, Luna Rossa's Skipper, is a former member of the 2010 America's Cup winning team BMW ORACLE Racing... He has veteran Extreme 40 sailors, the 2010 champion´helmsman Paul Campbell-James and Alister Richardson on the crew, along with ex-49er sailor and Luna Rossa crew Manuel Modena.
Max Sirena of Luna Rossa. Supplied image.
Alinghi has a wealth of America's Cup talent in its crew too, with Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey, not to mention Ernesto Bertarelli himself. Tanguy Cariou and Yann Guichard's multihull experience and abilities are second to none.
The all-Italian entry Nice for You also has America's Cup experience on board, with Simone de Mari and Daniele de Luca, as well as multihull knowledge from Alberto Sonnino to complement the enthusiasm of skipper Alberto Barovier for the Extreme 40 circuit racing.
Scattered amongst the other teams are Tornado Olympians such as Roland Gaebler (Team Extreme) and Pierre Pennec (Gitana, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild), while the two Oman Sail boats are strong in practice time, and led by the very experienced Sidney Gavignet, and young Australian top international match racer Torvar Mirsky, respectively. The speed of development of Omani sailors is shown by their top placings internationally, including a runner-up placing to the runaway winner of the Tour de France a la Voile in the Sailing Arabia - Tour of Arabia earlier this month, and the victories of their Extreme 40 boats overall in the last two Extreme Sailing Series. (Kinley Fowler, from Torvar Mirsky's match racing team, mainsheetman on Oman Air, is also a Kiwi.)
Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Oman Sail.
Crews without America's Cup sailors on board do stand a very good chance of doing well too; the key to winning the Extreme Sailing Series is preparation and practice - something at which the Oman Sail boats excel, as shown by Masirah's overall win of the Extreme Sailing Series in 2009 and that of The Wave, Muscat, in 2010. As Dean Barker put it "the nature of this racing with very short courses and a lot of maneouvring puts strong emphasis on starting and boathandling so time in the boat is very important".
Bring on the racing!
Dean Barker: Kiwi Yachting Consultants
Extreme Sailing Series
Thursday, 17 February 2011
CentrePort International Youth Match Racing Championships, Wellington: Coltman & Galati Lead
by Matt Steven
The 2011 Centreport International Youth Match Racing Championships are underway. With three teams entered from Australia, one from Italy, one from Auckland and three more from Wellington it looks like the racing will be fast and furious.
Jay Griffen and his team from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia must enter as hot favourites having just won the Harken Cup in Auckland. His rival from acorss the harbour Jordan Reece, representing Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, will also be hard to beat entering this regatta on the back of four events in Australia and New Zealand. Rounding out the Australian trio is Stephanie Doyle and her team from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club making her frst appearance as skipper on Wellington Harbour.
Codie Banks from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Valerio Galati from Lega Navale Italiana Trani both come to this regatta having competed in last week's Harken cup and should be on good form for the event.
The local derby is going to be interesting with Josh Porebski's team coming up against Tim Coltman and his team both representing the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club. Clubmate Anita Trudgen has entered a girls team to get some practice before next week's selection event for the Yachting New Zealand women's Olympic squad, but you can bet she will also be hard to beat in this event.
Racing has concluded for the day with 10 flights completed in perfect conditions. Up to date results are below. Check the Twitter feed @WgtnSpirit for live updates.
Note from SailRaceWin: After initial postponements due to light winds, racing got under way in 10-14 knots of breeze at the entrance to Evans Bay, Wellington, on day one.
Results after day one
Skipper (club, country) wins-losses
Tim Coltman (RPNYC, New Zealand) 4-1
Valerio Galati (LNIT, Italy) 4-1
Codie Banks (RNZYS, New Zealand) 3-2
Jay Griffen (CYCA, Australia) 3-2
Jordan Reece (RSYS, Australia) 3-2
Josh Porebski (RPNYC, Wellington) 2-1
Anita Trudgen (RPNYC, Wellington) 1-6
Stephanie Doyle (RPAYC, Australia) 0-5
RPNYC
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