Extracted from the story below I noted this quote from Loick Peyron: "Sailing is like the Himalayas, there are many 8000m summits: the Cup, the Vendee Globe, the Olympic Games... All of them are difficult to achieve and very different from each other. The America's Cup is the perfect illustration following last springs' schism: we all share the same God but not the same religion."
From a Summer Sailstice perspective there is the huge variety of events representing the 'peak' of sailing competition. But that's just racing. What about all the other sailing in the world? Cruising, daysailing, chartering, kiteboarding - beyond the uber competitive world of the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race there's another completely different world of sailing holding a fascination for an even larger population of sailors than participate in these premier racing events.
Summer Sailstice contemplates the huge diversity of sailing in what's perceived as a relatively small population of actual sailors. How can so many sailors find so many different ways of participating? And, if they all love sailing so much, how could they all get together in a single celebration? Summer Sailstice, audaciously suggests that we're bonded by the power of wind on sail and together we should demonstrate to the world the almost infinite ways of participating.
Read the full story from the World Yacht Racing Forum below:
Adapt to a Changing World, Say World Yacht Racing Forum Speakers
"The sport of sailing needs to adapt to a changing world": This year's World Yacht Racing Forum saw discussion on new media, host cities, sustainable development, the America's Cup and even the Olympic Games, which reached the same conclusion: we are in a period of transition and we need to adapt.
Keynote speaker Loick Peyron, veteran global ocean racer & multihull skipper, summed it up: "Sailing is like the Himalayas, there are many 8000 summits: the Cup, the Vendee Globe, the Olympic Games... All of them are difficult to achieve and very different from each other. The America's Cup is the perfect illustration following last springs' schism: we all share the same God but not the same religion."
In order to grow - if not just survive - yacht racing needs to find cost effective strategies to grow new audiences via TV and new media. "We are coming out of a recession. Advertising has decreased; people watch more pay TV and less terrestrial television", explained Michel Masquelier, President of IMG Media. "The platforms have exploded, with internet, mobile phones and hundreds of channels now available. The key question is what content to produce, and on which platform to show it."
Maria Ferreras, Head of Partnerships for YouTube, commented: online television. "35 hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every minute", she explained. "Two million videos are watched every day and 50% of them are rated or commented, which shows that people watch actively, they don't just have the TV on in the kitchen."
YouTube on its own, however is not enough and the key to good media coverage lies in the multiplication of channels. "On top of this, you need to promote your productions through social networks, Twitter, Facebook etc..." says Media & Communications Consultant Marcus Hutchinson. "You must tell people that you have produced a video and where they can watch it."
"Depending on who you are, means you will watch the content on a different tool", confirms Masquelier. "The good news is you have more outlets. The bad one is you don't have more time. So you need to target your distribution perfectly. But remember that only 100,000 people watched the last America's Cup online with a hundred million people watching it on TV."
Whilst sailing remains a small sport from a media perspective, it offers a huge potential to cities who want to develop their landscape and waterfront. Today's second debate, entitled "How are major cities and venues benefiting from hosting sailing events?" highlighted this potential. "Our events are bigger and more professional", declared Mark Turner, Executive Chairman, OC ThirdPole. "There are different models but obviously the venues play an important role. Les Sables d'Olonne or Le Havre in France have massively benefited from the Vendee Globe and the Transat Jacques Vabre. Barcelona decided to link its name with a sailing event. Auckland and Valencia are different cities since they've hosted the Cup. Sailing can be a catalyst for major real estate developments and our sport offers amazing opportunities."
Full report and details of the conference:
www.worldyachtracingforum.com
