Smartly Pounding the Drum for Growth

What is your event doing, not just to grow the event, but to grow the sport. Cowes Week, one of the world’s best-known sailing regattas and a highlight of the British sporting summer, is doing two things.

Cowes Week isn’t until summer (July 29 – August 5) but they have already begun promoting their event. More so, they are continuing their very effective youth initiative which offers discounted entry fees to boats with crews of under 25 year olds.

The Cowes Week Under 25 Youth initiative, which has been running since 2012, has succeeded in doing what it was originally designed for – inspiring and making it possible for young people to race at Cowes Week.

By offering an extremely attractive package to young sailors under the age of 25, numbers have, not surprisingly, increased over the last few years. Entries for the Under 25 Trophy at the 2016 regatta increased by 12%.

This year Cowes Week Ltd is offering the first 25 crews to enter, who are all under age 25 at the time of the regatta, a 50% discount on the entry fee. “We are committed to making racing at Cowes Week more attractive and cost-effective for the next-generation of sailors,” said Kate Johnson, Commercial & Marketing Director at Cowes Week.

Event details – Facebook

Background:
Cowes Week is one of the UK’s longest running sporting events, having first taken place in 1826. The aspirational and inclusive sailing regatta is the largest of its kind in the world, attracting between 800 and 1,000 yachts in up to 40 classes. Around 7,000 competitors race during the week ranging from weekend sailors to World Champions and Olympic medallists.

The lively apres-sail atmosphere at Cowes Week means there is plenty of social and exciting onshore activities for sailors and the thousands of spectators who visit Cowes each year. The next edition of the regatta takes place from July 29 -August 5 2017. Entries are now open online.