| TEAMORIGIN invests in the future of sailing |
| Tuesday, 29 May 2007 |
TEAMORIGIN, the British Sailing Team intending to bid for the 33rd America’s Cup, today announced that it is to become the Main Partner to OnBoard, the RYA’s (Royal Yachting Association’s) grass roots sailing programme in Britain. This key partnership announcement is a strategic and operational agreement with RYA Onboard, an initiative designed to attract young people to the sport and to develop a firm foundation for the future of UK sailing. TEAMORIGIN and the RYA plan to work closely together to continue to raise the performance standards of British sailing and to widen participation in the sport of sailing in the UK and the OnBoard partnership is the first specific agreement to be reached.
Started in 2004, the OnBoard programme is giving over half a million young people in Britain the opportunity to try sailing and windsurfing over the next ten years. TEAMORIGIN has agreed to become the Main Partner (Primary Sponsor) of the programme and is committed to support the programme through a significant financial contribution as well as personal endorsement of the programme by TEAMORIGIN team members over a number of years.
To date over 26,000 OnBoard beginner sessions have been run across the country, with over 1,000 young people taking up sailing or windsurfing on a regular basis. There are 63 OnBoard Clubs and Centres, with several more due to join the programme during 2007. Together the partnership will increase interest and involvement in sailing and get young people out on the water whilst retaining upwards of 10% to become long term participants of the sport.
Mike Sanderson, Team Director TEAMORIGIN, commented:
“We are delighted to join forces with a project that is as exciting as the RYA OnBoard scheme. Within TEAMORIGIN we recognise that our future success in sailing and Britain’s hopes of winning, and retaining, the America’s Cup is rooted in promoting the sport to young people in the UK. By aspiring to win the America’s Cup, TEAMORIGIN also hopes to unite the country behind a prestigious sporting event, making everyone proud of our achievements as a nation and raising awareness and participation of the sport. Introducing young people to sailing and increasing the sport’s popularity will be instrumental to the success of our campaign. We want to give something back to the sport we love so much.”
Rod Carr, Chief Executive of RYA, said:
“TEAMORIGIN is the ideal partner for RYA OnBoard. The programme has always had a huge amount of potential and has already achieved significant progress, but now with TEAMORIGIN’s added support and backing, we believe we will be able to achieve even more significant results. Getting kids out on the water, especially those who have not yet seen sailing as an accessible sport, is instrumental to the future of the sport in the UK. The RYA is as ambitious for Britain in the America’s Cup as it is for sailing in the UK and recognises that we must take sailing far and wide. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with Sir Keith Mills, Mike Sanderson and this excellent team.”
For further information on RYA OnBoard please visit www.ruob.co.uk
|
|
Email this page to a friend
|
