Cutting-Edge Solutions for the Sport

The World Cup Series, an elite international circuit for Olympic sailing, has partnered with SAP over the next four years to transform the events and evolve the sport for future generations.

Utilizing cutting-edge, innovative solutions, SAP will transform the events by improving performance on the water, reinventing the fan experience on the shoreline and at home, simplifying operations for sailors and coaches and supplying media with information and insights to deliver a more informed commentary.

“This marks the start of an exciting new era for World Sailing,” commented World Sailing President Kim Andersen. “There is a unique relationship between sport, technology and nature in sailing as they all work together in powerful harmony. With SAP, we have a technology partner who reflects this positioning and matches our ambitions to inspire millions more people to fall in love with sailing.”

SAP is providing World Sailing with SAP® Sailing Analytics software and the SAP Sailing Race Manager mobile app across all classes at the World Cup Series of events. The technology WAS used at the recent World Cup Series event in Hyères, France.

Every boat will carry a tracking device and data will feed in directly from the water, bringing followers real-time tracking, live leader boards and race information from multiple areas. Wind sensors will also be placed around the racing areas, providing immediate updates on the sailing conditions the world’s leading sailors at the World Cup Series are competing in.

SAP Sailing Analytics enables users to dive deep into the data from every race tracked. Sailors and coaches will be able to benefit from key analytics such as manoeuvers made, distance sailed and winning lanes to analyze and understand their performance. This information will prove invaluable as competitors can assess their performance against their rivals to enhance the competition on the water.

To support the International Race Officials managing race protocol on and off the water, SAP will provide the SAP Sailing Race Manager mobile app at the World Cup Series to deliver greater efficiency and control to race organizers by automating and simplifying their manual tasks and communication during running sailing events.

World Sailing Chief Executive Officer Andy Hunt added, “SAP continues to research and develop new solutions that bring worldwide spectators much closer to the action than ever before. We’re looking forward to growing the partnership and innovating in unison over the coming years in the best interests of the sport.”

“With one of the largest individual gatherings of classes in the world, we look forward to opening up the intricacies of the sport at this level over the next years,” noted Dr. Stefan Lacher, Head of Sponsorship Innovations at SAP. “We will apply our data analytics and insights to further enhance the enjoyment of the sport for fans, sailors and officials. The partnership will also offer a unique test bed for future innovations.”

Background: The World Cup Series is a world-class, annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Over 2,000 of the World’s leading sailors, representing over 75 nations have competed in the World Cup Series which offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in the Olympic sailing world. For more information and criteria … click here.

2017 Sailing World Cup Series
Miami, USA (January 22-29)
Hyeres, France (April 25-May 1)
Santander, Spain – Final (June 4-11)

Source: World Sailing