John Tweed, Chief Executive of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) will be representing the South West next week at the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco. John will be one of 400 international delegates, including leading marine industry figures and sailing personalities, who will join serious discussions and debates into the future of global yacht racing over two days with Yacht Club Monaco as host to the event.
Debates and presentations scheduled will cover the commercial case for sailing sponsorship, the impact of yacht racing on host cities and ports, the measure and evaluation of sailing events’ commercial return, sponsorship case studies and new media. The guests will also have a unique insight into the world of other sports such as Formula 1 with Nick Fry, CEO of Championship Formula 1 team Brawn GP, who will be joining a panel discussion on ‘what the sport of sailing can learn from other sports’.
The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy has recently celebrated one year of final completion and is now keen to work with international event holders, class associations and governing bodies to really promote the venue as multipurpose across the entire marine sector. During the summer of 2009 WPNSA successfully hosted the Farr 45 Yacht Racing National Championships; with 125 event berths available on custom built pontoons, award winning onshore facilities, natural deep water harbour and direct access to the renowned yachting waters of Weymouth Bay, the venue is starting to attract some serious attention from yacht race event organisers. The World Yacht Racing Forum will offer John Tweed a unique opportunity to network with potential international event organisers keen to bring future events to Weymouth and Portland.
John Tweed, Chief Executive, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy: ‘I am pleased to be attending the World Yacht Racing Forum and representing the South West. The Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy has a huge potential to become one of the world’s premiere international yacht racing destinations and the event will be excellent for garnering knowledge into the positive commercial benefits that yacht racing can bring to host venues, cities and communities. We have the additional benefit of being adjacent to the new Portland Marina, which currently has a further 250 berths and ultimately will have almost 600. We believe this combination of facilities is unique and offers unrivalled opportunities for larger boats. We have enormous experience of race management with a very full programme of dinghy events and we now wish to exploit the opportunities for larger yachts to come and race in these very special waters.’
