Volvo Ocean Race, al via da Alicante per le prossime tre edizioni
OceanoVelaVolvo Ocean Race 7 Maggio 2009 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic=2424,300,204,,left]Volvo Ocean Race – Boston – Si sposterà dal sud dell’Inghilterra ad Alicante il quartier generale della Volvo Ocean Race. Come riportato da Zerogradinord.it all’inizio di marzo, la città spagnola sarà porto di partenza della manifestazione per le prossime tre edizioni. L’accordo tra l’amministrazione regionale valenciana e il Comitato Organizzatore della regata oceanica per eccellenza è stato sottoscritto a Boston dopo i lunghi contatti intercorsi nei mesi scorsi.
“E’ senza dubbio alcuno un grande momento per la Volvo Ocean Race – ha dichiarato Knut Frostad, CEO della manifestazione – L’accoglienza e la capacità organizzativa dimostrata da Alicante al momento della partenza sono state davvero notevoli e ci hanno impressionato”.
“Uno dei nostri obiettivi, in chiave futura, era quello di stabilire dei rapporti a lungo termine con le città che saranno seded di tappa e, per ragioni economiche, posizionare il nostro quartier generale in uno dei porti. Una cosa che ha senso solo quando le parti sono d’accordo su un progetto a lungo termine: questo è quanto avvenuto oggi con la sottoscrizione dell’accordo con la città di Alicante”.
Anche Francisco Camps, presidente del consiglio regionale valenciano, ha commentato l’accordo: “Aver accolto la partenza della Volvo Ocean Race si è rivelata un’esperienza molto positiva per la città di Alicante. Oggi possiamo annunciare che la nostra città si candida per diventare uno dei poli dell’agonismo velico di alto livello per gli anni a venire”.
Questo è un altro punto a favore della Volvo Ocean Race che, in un momento molto opaco per l’America’s Cup, passa da un successo all’altro: prima del via dello scorso ottobre, infatti, era stata annunciato il rinnovo della partnership con Volvo, mentre domenica prossima si svolgerà una nuova riunione tecnica nel corso della quale verranno rese note altre novità per l’edizione del 2011-12. Il primo di questi meeting si era svolto a Rio de Janeiro il mese scorso.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE IS MOVING TO ALICANTE
Volvo Ocean Race – Boston – The Volvo Ocean Race is to move its headquarters from the South Coast of England to Alicante, Spain. The Mediterranean city will become both the starting port and the home of the race for the next three editions.
The agreement has been signed today in Boston between the Volvo Ocean Race and the Spanish regional government of Valencia, following extensive negotiations that began last November.
“This is a great moment for the Volvo Ocean Race,” said Knut Frostad, CEO of the race organisers. “The support and hospitality we received from Alicante as the start port of the current race left a very positive impression with us.
“One of our goals, as we’ve looked ahead to the next race, has been to establish long-term relationships with our stopover ports, and, for economic reasons, to base our headquarters in one of the stopover ports. But this only makes sense when both parties can make a long-term commitment. And that’s the partnership we are announcing today with Alicante.
“Spain has played a significant part in recent editions of the race,” Frostad continued. “Spanish sailors outnumber all other nations in the current competition and Spain has shown consistently that it understands event culture, and how to organise sporting competition. The region has demonstrated many times that it excels as a sailing competition venue.”
Francisco Camps, President of the Region of Valencia said: “The impact of hosting the start of the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante last October was very positive for the city, the region and all of Spain. Today’s agreement means Spain will build on its status as a centre of excellence for sailing for years to come.”
Volvo Ocean Race headquarters, which has been based in Whiteley, Hampshire since 1998, will begin the process of moving to Alicante following the conclusion of the current competition at the end of June. The Volvo Ocean Race will be based in Spain by the end of this year, where its headquarters will remain for the next three editions of the race.
“There are many other elements to the partnership with Alicante,” said Knut Frostad. “These include initiatives to ensure the participation of at least two separate Spanish teams in each of the next three races.”
Significantly, the agreement will also see the construction of a race museum and interactive exhibition that celebrates the 36-year history and heritage of the race. The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2010.
“The museum and interactive exhibition is very important for us,” said Frostad. “This race has a long and storied history. Over the years, many of the very best sailors in the world have earned their reputations racing through the ‘Life at the Extreme’ conditions that characterise the Volvo Ocean Race. The museum and interactive exhibition will celebrate that heritage and provide a link between our future in Alicante and our past racing around the world.”
In addition, the port of Alicante has agreed to make itself available as a home to any of the teams in the current race after the finish in St. Petersburg at the end of June. Other benefits to new and existing teams feature in the arrangement as well.
This announcement of the start port is separate from the bidding process which was recently initiated for international stopover ports for the next edition of the race. That process will finish by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
The Volvo Ocean Race fleet is currently in Boston after completing six stages of the 10-leg race. In the midst of the current competition, the race organisers set themselves the task of developing and evolving the race through a consultation process with stakeholders, with a particular focus on cost-cutting and increasing value from participating in the race.
In October, before the start of this race, it was confirmed that Volvo would maintain its support for the race. At the previous stopover last month, in Rio de Janeiro, Knut Frostad held the first of a series of ‘roundtable’ sessions where details of the next edition of the race and the results of this consultation process are revealed. The next session is scheduled for Sunday in Boston, when more of the proposed rule changes will be explained.
The Volvo Ocean Race began life in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race, when 17 teams from seven countries contested the first fully crewed race around the world. The race was subsequently run every four years and in 1998, when Volvo acquired the race, it was renamed the Volvo Ocean Race. The current edition is the third Volvo Ocean Race and finishes in St. Petersburg, Russia at the end of June.
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