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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 549 - April 14, 2000COMMENTARY - By Ali MellerEvent advertising is a form of sponsorship, with the sponsor getting something in return for their support of the event. Event sponsorship is a very good thing. - My experience with event sponsorship is that it can provide: . -sponsors for world championships, which allows many more competitors to participate. . - More prizes and giveaways - Sponsors such as sailmakers and chandleries may provide sails or gear at reduced prices, such that they can be used as prizes or for raffles. . - Better social events - Food and drink sponsors or local restaurants may support a post-race happy hour and party. The event may provide post race food and drink for all, without having to charge for it in the entry fee. . - More publicity for the event, which is a win-win for both sailors/classes and advertisers wanting publicity - Sailing media sponsors can provide free or subsidized pre-event advertising or an event photographer. Not all events benefit from advertising/sponsorship; for many events their may be so little perceived value to a sponsor from advertising, that none wish to participate, and the search for sponsors could detract from organizing other aspects of the event. In our experience, advertising/sponsorship does not provide major cash infusions into an event budget, or make significant changes in the format or "feel" of an event. Finding sponsorship requires work, and consideration of the sponsor's return. For the benefits the sponsor provides, displaying advertising is a small price to pay. At some major events all boats carry the major sponsor's advertising in the form of stickers on the bow. Frequently, sponsors banners are displayed at the venue. Sponsors are mentioned in race reports, and so on. Individual sponsorship -- a competitor making their own sponsorship arrangements and displaying advertising -- can also be a good thing. In our experience the sums involved are small, and may simply assist a young competitor on a budget buy a new mainsail, and displaying the sponsors logo on the sail in return. A key problem that competitors seeking individual sponsorship have faced, is that the level of advertising allowed (Category A, B, or C) was set PER EVENT. This meant that a competitor could be allowed to display advertising at one event, but not necessarily at the next. They would have to peel off advertisement stickers in order to compete at the second event, and then put new stickers back on for a third event. It turns out that the cost of the stickers quickly exceeds the value of the typical sponsorship agreement. In effect this prevents individual advertising/sponsorship from happening for anything other than a single event, and limits it. For individual sponsorship to work, a competitor needs to be able to carry advertising for a period of time longer than one event, perhaps a season or a year. That would allow the competitor to use only one set of advertising stickers, and would give the advertiser/sponsor more perceived value. For a competitor to be able to carry advertising for a season, the level of advertising set must be consistent across events, and thus not set by event organizers. As ISAF President Paul Henderson has said, the sailors should decide. In the case of the ISAF International Classes, the proposed ISAF Advertising Code says that the class associations (i.e. the sailors) decide what -- if any -- amount of advertising may be carried by those individually sponsored. In its intent, the proposed Advertising Code is a good thing, but it still has some problems. While assigning the decision about whether advertising should be carried to the sailors via their class associations, the proposed Advertising Code allows only Member National Authorities (MNAs) such as the US Sailing Association, the CYA, etc. to charge a license fee for those sailors choosing to carry individual advertisements. In One Design racing, the events -- and therefore the advertising opportunities -- exist primarily because of the class association. Without a class association there is no one design class, and no major class events. In large part, the value to a sponsor -- their advertising being displayed somewhere it will be seen -- exists because of the class association and the other competitors at the event. Our class members have discussed and voted on this issue several times, and the wishes of the class members are clear, we wish to allow individual advertising PROVIDED THE CLASS ASSOCIATION CAN CHARGE A LICENSE FEE. The proposed ISAF Advertising Code prevents this implicitly in 4.4 and explicitly in 8, even going so far as to prevent class associations charging differential entry fees (a license to carry individual advertising at that one event), which is what we do now in the absence of season long licensing. As Mr. Henderson suggests, the sailors in our class have decided, but would be prevented from implementing their wishes if the draft Advertising Code is adopted as is. While the basic intent of the draft Advertising Code is a major improvement over the existing situation, the devil is in the details, and this draft has problems in the details. In its current form, it is not an improvement over the current rule, for sailors in my class. -- Alexander "Ali" Meller, VP International 505 Class Yacht Racing Association REAL GIANTS Nine months before the start of THE RACE, the line-up aimed for of ten challengers is being confirmed, among which will be no less than 6 new giant multihulls specifically built for the event. 1) PlayStation (USA), catamaran / 32.50m / Steve Fossett / Launched January 1999 Currently in preparation in Bermuda, PlayStation will be attacking its first qualification course, New York / the Lizard, at the end of May. 2) Team Philips (GB), Twin-rig catamaran / 36.50m / Pete Goss / Launched end of March 2000 The catamaran, which suffered damage during its initial sea trials is on the way back to the yard in Totnes (GB) for repairs and reinforcements to its structure. Re-launching scheduled for end of May. 3) Club Med (F), catamaran / 33.50m / Grant Dalton / To be launched on 8th May 2000 In the finishing stages at the Multiplast yard in Vannes, Club Med, the first challenger of French design culture, will be attempting qualification on the East-West Atlantic record at the beginning of June. 4) Code 1 (X), catamaran / 33.50m / sponsor confidential / To be launched end of July Being assembled in Vannes and second sister ship in the 'Code Zero' generation, Code 1 will be attempting qualification in August/September. 5) Team Adventure (USA), catamaran 33.50m / Cam Lewis / To be launched September 2000 The boat is currently under construction at the JMV yard in Cherbourg. 6) Rave (Hawaii), trimaran / 38m / Earl Edwards / To be launched July 2000 The boat1s platform has now been assembled. The team is now working on the appendages. 7) Polpharma-Warta (POL), catamaran / 27m / Roman Paszke. / Qualified in February 2000 Already qualified for The Race, the catamaran is returning to the yard for final preparations. Re-launching scheduled for end of July. 8) Millenium Challenge (GB), catamaran / 30m / Tony Bullimore / To be launched end of June 2000 First qualification attempt in July 2000. 9) Solo 100 (NDL). Having started the construction of his twin-rig 36 m catamaran only in January in Amsterdam, Dutchman Henk de Velde is preferring to concentrate on his 'B- plan' (optimised existing catamaran) for his participation in The Race. 10) 4 syndicates still remain in the wings for a tenth place on the line-up. Since launching The Race, Bruno Peyron has brushed aside the question of his eventual participation in The Race, in this way putting the accent on building the event. Today, the creator of The Race answers this question by deciding to concentrate on his role and his sole responsibility as organiser of the race : "I have been nurturing this project for a long time. With the stakes becoming more important day by day, all available energy is necessary for the good organisation of the event, and not least my own availability. Although it would be possible and after having seriously envisaged it, I cannot allow myself to reverse these priorities. Consequently this decision not to race will avoid any ambiguity and enable me to preserve the neutrality that I owe to each challenger of The Race. This availability will give me the chance to pursue the international promotion of the event whilst continuing to sail whenever the opportunity arises." -- Stephanie Schroeder The Race website: http://www.therace.org/english/ US OLYMPIC TRIALS Results (Ten races - two throwouts): STAR (16 boats): 1. Mark Reynolds/ Magnus Liljedahl (9 points) 2. Vince Brun/ Mike Dorgan (23) 3. George Szabo/ Rick Peters (26) 4. Joe Londrigan/ Mark Strube (29) 5. John MacCausland/ Phil Trinter (32) 6. Eric Doyle/ Tom Olsen (37) FINN (26 boats): 1. Russ Silvestri (12 pts) 2. Darrell Peck (22) 3. Mark Herrmann (24) 4. Mike Deyett (34) 5. Eric Oetgen (35) EUROPE (23 boats): 1. COURTENAY BECKER-DEY (9 pts) 2. MEG GAILLARD (15) 3. KRYSIA POHL (30) 4. DANIELLE B. MYRDAL (35) 5. AMANDA CLARK (39) LASER (32 boats): 1. JOHN MYRDAL (19 pts) 2. MARK MENDELBLATT (21) 3. BRETT DAVIS (29) 4. BILL HARDESTY (35) 5. PETER HURLEY (45) Full results: http://www.ussailing.org/ VOLVO OCEAN RACE The first women's team has now been officially registered and recognised as an entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-02. Team Waterfront, headed by Lisa Charles-McDonald (USA) and Katie Pettibone (USA), was accepted at the end of last month by the Volvo Ocean Race office, and is currently the only registered all-female syndicate. Lisa and Katie are among the best in women yacht racers today, having completed the 1997-98 Whitbread Round the World Race and two America's Cup campaigns. These top-notch events are only highlights of careers composed of numerous international events on mixed and women's teams. Team Waterfront will also include two-time America's Cup veteran Joan Touchette (USA), Whitbread veterans Keryn McMaster (NZL) and Emma Westmacott (GBR) as the core crew. "We have some of the world's top female sailors interested in joining us. The pedigree of the core team is impressive and we look forward to an exciting competition at the end of next year", commented Charles-McDonald. "We all feel it is really important that a strong female team participates in the Volvo Ocean Race. The past three round the world races have seen all-female teams take part with different strengths and weaknesses. Our aim for the 2001-02 race is to have a well-funded and well-prepared team capable of winning an event that has evolved into a competition so fierce it will rival the America's Cup." "A women's team in this pinnacle of ocean racing is a must. The Volvo Ocean Race's (formerly The Whitbread) has featured three other all-women's teams: Maiden (89-90), Heineken (93-94) and most recently, EF Education. The Volvo Race Office wishes Team Waterfront the best of luck in their search for a sponsor and we look forward to seeing them on the starting line in September 2001", commented Michael Woods, Director of Race Operations for the Volvo Ocean Race Office. -- Lizzie Green Event website: http://www.VolvoOceanRace.org CONGRESSIONAL CUP -- Report by Rich Roberts LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Thursday's Congressional Cup action unveiled some secrets of success you won't hear at the usual sailboat racing clinic. New Zealand's Dean Barker, whose America's Cup crew came back to sweep four races after going 2-3 the previous day: "We had a quiet night the night before last, so at the Mt. Gay [Rum] party last night we figured we'd get back in our usual routine." Peter Holmberg, the two-time defending champion from the U.S. Virgin Islands who came back from oblivion into contention with a 3-1 afternoon: "I did change my sunglasses. I was having a bad time seeing." Barker's streak of six consecutive wins overall raised his record to 12-5 and earned him a place in today's semifinals alongside frontrunner Bertrand Pace of France (13-4), the No. 2-ranked match racer in the world. They'll meet Friday when all 10 boats return to the course to complete the second round. Pace won their first-round match and can pick his semis opponent by repeating. If the No. 6-ranked Barker wins, his options depend on a complex but precise system of tiebreakers. Australia's Sebastien Destremau is alone at 10-7 but must beat local hope Scott Dickson to ensure his advance. The four-way dogfight behind him includes Germany's Markus Wieser, Denmark's Sten Mohr, Holmberg and Australia's James Spithill, all at 9-8. Destremau meets Dickson (5-12), Mohr races France's No. 5-ranked Luc Pillot (7-10), Spithill gets France's Damien Iehl (2-15) and Wieser and Holmberg race each other. The total purse is $25,000, with about $6,000 due the winner. Iehl is assured of last place, meaning he'll receive the traditional booby prize: Arthur Knapp's venerable book, "Race Your Boat Right." Following three days of fog and light winds, Thursday brought clear air and a southwest breeze of 15 knots -- so-called typical Long Beach conditions. Nevertheless, the race committee called it a day well before 5 o'clock to carry the full fleet into the final day. Pace was not pleased. "I was surprised that the race committee did not finish the round robin today," he said. Pace's concern was that Friday would already be a full day with the semifinals and finals both scheduled for best-of-5 if they go the limit. QUOTES AND NOTES: Thursday's more brisk conditions produced more protests than usual -- 22 in all, 8 of which brought penalties. Total for the week is 63 and 29. Australia's Sebastian Destremau, alone in third place: "We've got one foot in the semifinals, but we have to get through the door." Germany's Markus Wieser, on losing the day's first race to Destremau: "We went out with Dean Barker last night." Event website: http://www.lbyc.org LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From David Redfern -- The America's Cup has been known for a long time as the 'Hundred Guineas Cup'. Squadron records show this not to be. It was known in 1851 as the Hundred Pound (L100) Cup. I've received a quote from Ken Beken on the subject which you may like as an end quote. . "Guineas is for horses, Pounds is for Yachts" -- From Paul Miller -- A few suggestions to recruit and retain volunteers (many others will no doubt add more): 1. Provide pleasant, varied work activities that they indicate they would like to do. 2. Train them well and keep their jobs within their capabilities. 3. Reward them with above average food and trinkets. 4. Acknowledge them both personally and publicly and in print. 5. Support them 100%. 6. Keep an informal record of each volunteer's skills and work to expand their skills and responsibilities. -- From Don Becker -- Just read an interesting columnn the April issue of Car and Driver. Brock Yates is bemoaing the fact that there is no US presence in world class (ie. Formula 1) auto racing, and thare have been no all built US entries in CART, IRL or the Indianapolis 500. At the end of the column he states, "How about a Ted Turner or Donald Trump or Bill Gates engine winning at Indy, either in the 500 or the F1 race, or both? How about a consortium of high rollers like those who fund the America's Cup challenges? If we can build hot blow boats, why not race cars?" He also compares NASCAR (Winston Cup) racing, the darling if those who would make sail boat racing more 'viewer friendly', to the WWF. OLYMPIC FUNDING Declaring the bottom line is the medal count, new U.S. Olympic Committee boss Norm Blake plans to push through a radical change this weekend that would slash the budgets of some 20 sports while enriching traditional powerhouses like swimming. Other big winners in Blake's plan are expected to be gymnastics, figure skating, ice hockey, track and field, and boxing. The losers would be sports like team handball, biathlon, field hockey, weightlifting and table tennis. "We feel we are accountable to making America proud, and that comes down to the medal count," Blake said before presenting his plan to the 19-member USOC executive committee on Friday. "So we are consciously allocating resources to that end, which means we are taking from some to give more to others." By eliminating or sharply cutting what Blake called, in the business jargon he frequently employs, "low value-added programs," the USOC hopes to speed the development of athletes, improve coaching, and boost the overall haul of medals. Of the 45 national governing bodies of the sports the USOC funds, including 39 Olympic national bodies, about half are going to feel cuts, Blake said. "I've employed sort of a portfolio management discipline where we've attempted to evaluate the medal potential that each sport has and then to critically assess the capability of that sport to achieve the winning of those medals," Blake said. Full story: http://www.msnbc.com/news/394103.asp?cp1=1 CALENDAR * July 7-9 - Sail Newport's Newport Regatta presented by Helly Hansen. One-design racing. http://206.113.51.145/regattas.php3?RegGenID=2 * March 2-4, 2001 - St.Maarten/St.Martin Heineken Regatta, http://www.heinekenregatta.com ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD Sport England is delighted to announce that it has awarded Hayling Island Sailing Club L3,383,023 from the Sport England Lottery Fund to enable the facility to become an integral part of the English Institute of Sport. The award is for the construction and development of a world class sailing facility and clubhouse which will enable the club to implement the Royal Yachting Association's (RYA) World Class Performance, Potential and Start Programmes. Hayling Island Sailing Club was identified as a key element of the English Institute of Sport following extensive research and consultation with competitive sailors, the RYA's Performance Director and the RYA itself who identified the site as one of its highest priorities for development. The club will assist the RYA and its top performers to reach their targets in terms of championships and medals. Sport England Chair Trevor Brooking CBE believes this award is yet another step towards England winning more medals at major international sporting events: "The establishment of Hayling Island Sailing Club as a world class facility and as an integral part of the English Institute of Sport is crucial if we are to provide the right framework within which our top and aspiring sailors can train and compete more successfully". -- Sailsail website Full story: http://www.sailsail.com/news/news-article.asp?Articleid=191 THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL Practice safe eating -- always use condiments. |
