SailGP: Business of building fan loyalty

The SportsPro publication, which focuses on the business world of sport, looked at the challenge for three emerging sports competitions to build lasting loyalties. This excerpt is in regard to SailGP:

SailGP starts with an advantage: much of its potential audience has relatively little established sailing consumption to disrupt. It can introduce a viewing habit without first persuading someone to surrender their Saturday ritual.

Its national teams offer an immediate foothold, while short races in identical foiling catamarans make the spectacle accessible before viewers understand the finer technical details. There is plenty to watch while you work out what everyone is doing.

SailGP still faces the difficult business of converting spectacular footage into regular viewing. A clip can travel widely because a boat appears to be doing something physically unreasonable. Following the next race requires interest in the people aboard and the consequences of the result. Making the first encounter easier gives the competition a chance to develop that interest.

There is a temptation to assume that fans will eventually catch up with the investment. Yet a new league is asking people to make room for it in lives already full of sport they care about. The spending needs to reflect that, with as much thought given to why someone would return as to what might attract them once. Otherwise, every season becomes another expensive introduction. Backers need the patience to let loyalties develop, and enough evidence of people coming back to justify that patience.

SailGP information: sailgp.com

Season 6 Results (after 11 of 13 events)
1. Australia, Tom Slingsby (AUS), 2-1-5-1-1-1-4-7-1-2-2, 94 points
2. Spain, Diego Botin (ESP), 12-3-3-2-2-12-1-1-3-5-1, 78
3. Sweden, Nathan Outteridge (AUS), 4-5-9-3-11-5-2-2-5-9-7, 59
4. United States, Taylor Canfield/Martine Grael (USA), 5-7-1-4-7-6-6-6-11-1-13, 56
5. Great Britain, Dylan Fletcher (GBR), 1-2-2-12-4-2-11-11-9-6-9, 53
6. France, Quentin Delapierre (FRA), 3-4*-13-8-9-4-10-8-6-12-6, 46
7. Canada, Giles Scott (CAN/GBR), 6-10-11-10-6-3-8-3-2-10-8, 44
8. Denmark, Nicolai Sehested (DEN), 8-9-6-5-7-12-9-10-4-3, 40
9. Switzerland, Sébastien Schneiter (SUI), 11-12-10-11-5-8-3-4-8-7-4, 39
10. Germany, Erik Heil (GER), 9-6-8-6-3-11-7-10-7-8-12, 36
11. Italy, Phil Robertson (NZL), 7-13-4-7-8-9-9-12-12-3-11, 30
12. New Zealand, Peter Burling (NZL), 13-8-12-13-13-13-5-5-4-11-5, 27
13. Brazil, Martine Grael/Paul Goodison (BRA/GBR), 10-11-7-9-12-10-13-13-13-13-10, 9
* Received compensation points for Sydney due to boat damage in Event 2.

Season 6 – 2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sept 5-6 – Valencia, Spain
• Sept 19-20 – Geneva, Switzerland
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE
Note: The 11th event was moved to Geneva from Saint-Tropez, France.

Season 6 format:
• Thirteen teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event is two days.
• The league shifted to a split fleet format at Halifax for qualifying, using season standings to balance the two groups.
• The top two from each fleet advance to a 4-boat final race for the event title.
• The season ends with the Grand Final event which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing.
• All league teams are privately owned, with New Zealand as the last to be acquired on June 19, 2026.

Season 6 prize money:
A total of USD $12.8 million is up for grabs in 2026. The winner of each of the 13 events takes home $400,000, with $260,000 for second and $140,000 for third. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins $400,000, while the team that wins the Championship Final Race wins USD $2 million.

F50 Configuration:
All teams use same configuration based on weather forecast. There are four wingsail sizes (18m, 24m, 27.5m, and 29m), six jib sizes, two T-foil daggerboards (high-speed and low-speed), and one set of rudders with high-speed and low-speed settings.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP