'New goals are much needed'

Tuesday 27 October 2009 10:30 GMT

Safety, reliability and close competition, have been the priorities for Jack Lloyd, the Race Director and his team in drawing up the 2011-12 Rule and Notice of Race. Cost containment has also been focused on heavily. These are challenging objectives in any sport and the new regulations have produced a variety of reactions from sailors to yacht designers and media.

Today, it's the turn of the media to have their say ...

"I think it is an unusual combination of consultation without giving up direction," said Stuart Alexander, sailing correspondent of the British broadsheet newspaper, The Independent in a reference to the extensive process of seeking input from race stakeholders throughout the 2008-09 edition.

"The race organisation has retained control of its own destiny, while at the same time being able to talk to all the competitors about improvements along the way."

Alexander points out that cost containment is on the lips of every sporting event. "I think tackling costs is a problem with this game but also with every other game I've ever been involved in and people will always find a way of spending more money.  

"If you are going to allow human ingenuity, which this race definitely wants to do, then the ability to impose restrictions on that ingenuity, be they financial or design-wise is very limited. I think that one never wants to see a game that can only be won with a cheque book so the philosophy is right but as every other game on this planet, the execution of this philosophy is difficult."

Pedro Sardina, Spanish newspaper ABC's sailing correspondent, also believes that the race is moving in the right direction, "The new Rule is right. Not only is the cost containment a good idea, but also the goal of close racing. We are going to see more teams of a similar level. The teams are also going to be more equal regarding the technology used."

The new Rule aims to make it easier for teams with smaller budgets to be competitive, which in turn makes the race more attractive to sponsors.

James Boyd, founder of The Daily Sail said: "Costs have been spiralling upwards over the past few races and now that we are in the depths of a global recession, for this sort of sport, it is important for sponsors to get return on investment.

"Whether the return is from corporate hospitality or media presence the best return must be provided. You can either up the value you receive or reduce your investment, so I think the new goals are much needed.

"I think Knut (Frostad) has made some wise choices investing in the Boston Consulting Group's work to audit the team's last race and consulting everyone within the race. Will this have the desired effect to get lots of boats on the start line? Well this is hard to tell and will this be because the budgets will be smaller, because the race is being promoted better or because there are a few disgruntled teams leaving the America's Cup? Time will tell.

"I think he was right to keep the Volvo Open 70 rule but the question is if enough has been done to contain the costs enough. We will only know three years from now on the start line."

The ability for second generation Volvo Open 70s to compete in the next edition of the Race has been a big consideration for the Volvo Ocean Race teams. Delta Lloyd proved this could be done in the 2008-09 event, when, after a re-fit half way through the race, became a competitive entry. "Second generation boats could be important players in the next race, and with the new rules a team with a low budget could really get involved and play a good game," added Sardinia.

A 600 nautical mile qualifying race has also been introduced as part of the next edition, which will be used not only to qualify but to check safety equipment and the media facilities onboard the Volvo Open 70s.

Sardina likened this change to Formula One. "The 600nm race is going to be really positive, it will be a warm-up for the teams and the public," he said. "It is a great opportunity to check speed and performance before the start of the race. It would be like Formula One qualifying where a 'pole' position would be set before the start."

Boyd added: "I think the 600nm qualifier is a really good idea and there should do more of these things. It was always fantastic when most of the boats did the Fastnet before the start of the race as you got some form guide nowadays no one has a clue."

As for the new Under-30 rule, which has increased the number of these younger sailors from two to three, Sardinia again has positive views, "It's more than perfect; it's a right number and for example if we see seven boats on the start line, it will mean we will have 21, below or 30 year olds there too. That means we will have two full Volvo Open 70 crews of offshore sailors for the future!"

With the increase focus on media throughout all sporting events to not only bring the sport to the public but to successfully leverage sponsorship, the role of the Media Crew Member (MCM) is more important than ever. But Sardinia does not believe this can be improved unless the MCM is decided upon independently. "If the Media Crew Member is going to be hired by the team he will defend the team's interest and based on that, I don't think they are going to supply 100% of all the emotions. I still insist the MCM must be independent and hired by the organization."

Boyd agrees with Sardinia's point but doesn't believe this is possible. "Ultimately they want independent people onboard the boats or you have remote cameras onboard, which are controlled from onshore. But from an insurance point of view it is extremely difficult for the MCM not to be part of the crew. Also if the MCM is not a team member they will inevitably upset the crew and not fit in, which is not what you want either."

The reactions from Volvo Open 70 designers will be featured later this week.

Interviews: Sophie Luther and Helena De La Gandara

.....................................................................................................................................................................

COMMENTS

What's your view of the new Rule and Notice of Race? Have your say by clicking on the Comments link.

The Comments section is fully moderated (so bad language, personal abuse, repetition etc won't be accepted), and sometimes it might take a while for your words to get cleared or for us to publish, so please bear with us ...