| TEAMORIGIN links with The Royal Thames Yacht Club |
| Thursday, 28 June 2007 |
TEAMORIGIN, the British sailing team intending to bid for the 33rd America’s Cup, today announced a key partnership in their ongoing development. They have made a formal agreement with the Royal Thames Yacht Club to be their official Challenging Yacht Club, a mandatory requirement for all Challengers prior to entering the America’s Cup.
The selection of a yacht club before the end of the current 32nd America’s Cup puts TEAMORIGIN in a strong position ahead of the programme for the 33rd America’s Cup and represents an important step forward in building the British Challenge. All Challengers to the Cup must be organised as part of a recognised yacht club that meets the qualification criteria laid out under America’s Cup rules.
TEAMORIGIN has chosen to partner the prestigious Royal Thames Yacht Club after a careful selection process. The Royal Thames offers not only the benefits of a modern and flexible organisation but also boasts strong historical ties to the America’s Cup. Established in 1775, the Royal Thames is the oldest Royal yacht club in Britain and was the first Challenging Yacht Club for the America’s Cup in 1870, backing the British bid with Cambria following the inaugural victory of Schooner America in 1851.
Based in Knightsbridge, the Royal Thames offers a unique clubhouse venue in central London that is a focal point for the sailing world. This renowned club equally provides world class expertise and facilities across the UK, participating in a wide range of sailing events in home waters and internationally. The Club has Royal patronage and the Commodore is HRH The Duke of York. The Vice Commodore, John Stork, heads a 1,500 strong membership, many of whom have been involved in national and international competition, with a number of younger members competing for Olympic status.
The Royal Thames is also building a bright future, developing youth sailing skills and training the best talent among young champion sailors through the Club's Sailing Academy Scheme. Overall, the Club delivers a powerful and distinguished platform for TEAMORIGIN to manage and organise a global operation, characteristic of any challenge for the America’s Cup. The selection by the management team reflects the fact that the Club exceeded the objectives set out in the ongoing TEAMORIGIN strategy to bring the America’s Cup back to British shores.
Sir Keith Mills, Team Principal TEAMORIGIN, commented:
“I am very pleased to announce The Royal Thames Yacht Club’s selection as our official Challenging Yacht Club. We are required to choose a yacht club as part of our bid to win the Cup and needed to ensure that club met the necessary criteria and would give us the skills and experience we need – The Royal Thames certainly meets our requirements and we are thrilled that they are joining the TEAMORIGIN family. We look forward to working together closely with the club.”
John Stork, Vice-Commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, added:
“The Royal Thames is delighted to have been selected as the Challenging Yacht Club for TEAMORIGIN’s bid to win the America’s Cup. We aim to support TEAMORIGIN’s vision and values, in particular helping to encourage participation in our sport by building awareness and excitement across Britain about the ambitions of the team and why winning the America’s Cup is such an important and worthwhile goal for the whole country.”
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