Sailors Prepare For Delta Lloyd Regatta

The fifth event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup – Delta Lloyd Regatta.- kicks off in Medemblik today with more than 650 Olympic and Paralympic sailors from 51 countries competing in 11 events.

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the Regatta in Medemblik supported for the past two years by Delta Lloyd, the largest water sports insurer in The Netherlands.  In addition, there are 10 corporate co-sponsors and 40 organizations that donate time, money, product, services and manpower to making this regatta a success.

This year’s Delta Lloyd Regatta doubles as the fifth of the seven events which make up the first year of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Kieler Woche follows in June and Sail for Gold marks the finale in September in Weymouth, UK.

The Dutch have won 17 medals at the Olympic Games over the years and they are keen on raising the bar as hosts of ISAF graded events. This year’s regatta promises to be no different.

• Delta Lloyd has committed to sponsoring the Dutch Olympic Sailing Team through 2012 and will showcase the Olympic sailing program.
• The Paralympic 2.4 Metre Class is in the lineup.
• Women’s match racing is added to the list of events. The Yngling will be used at the Delta Lloyd Regatta and many of the Yngling sailors who competed in Qingdao will be on hand for the competition.
• They will continue the champions racing at the end of the day in which the day’s low point sailors from each class match race each other in mini 12 Meters while their compatriots and friends from the various Olympic classes watch from the deck and the dock. The trophies and cash prizes from the late afternoon racing are as coveted as the medals won for the four-day regatta with Medal Rounds held on the fifth day for the top 10 competitors in each class.
• The match racing and the Medal Races will be held just outside the marina’s breakwater, in full view of spectators at the sailing center.
• This year’s Medal Races will be televised live on a big screen at the sailing center and another in the center of Medemblik.
• Medemblik will host a street festival over the weekend of May 30 – 31.
• 10,000 copies of the 64-page, 4-color regatta program have been printed and distributed door-to-door throughout Medemblik.
• A 24-page insert to North Holland’s largest regional newspaper has been printed and distributed (circulation of 144,000).

Said Arjen RAHUSEN, this year’s regatta chairperson, “We are most excited about continuing to make this regatta a very spectator-friendly event and promoting it to the North Holland community. We have coordinated all sorts of promotional programs with one of our principal partners, the Province of North Holland. We are running spectator boats from the center of Medemblik; we have introduced RIB races and for the first time; we are promoting a downtown festival and will have live local coverage of the racing over the weekend.”

Koen van NIFTRIK, Brand Manager for Delta Lloyd, was also very positive about Delta Lloyd’s commitment to this year’s regatta. NIFTRIK said, “We sought a prestigious international sailing event to further strengthen our brand with nautical sports, an event that meets our sponsorship requirements. This Regatta was a logical choice for us: it is the largest international sailing regatta for Olympic sailing classes. With all national and international top-sailors present, this level of excellence fits the Delta Lloyd brand values and our brand positioning on knowledge.”

Over 650 sailors from 51 countries will be competing in 11 classes in this 25th Edition of the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Holland from May 27th – May 31st.

ISAF Sailing World Cup

The ISAF Sailing World Cup 2008-2009 consists of the following events:

16-21 Dec 2008 – Sail Melbourne The Asia Pacific Regatta, Melbourne, Australia
25-31 Jan 2009 – Rolex Miami OCR, Miami, USA
4-10 April 2009 – Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia MAPFRE, Palma, Spain
18-24 April 2009 – Semaine Olympique Francaise, Hyeres, France
27-31 May 2009 – Delta Lloyd Regatta, Medemblik, Netherlands
20-29 June 2009 – Kieler Woche, Kiel, Germany
14-19 Sept 2009 – Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, Weymouth, Great Britain

Find out more about the ISAF Sailing World Cup, including more on the seven events, the latest World Cup Standings, the scoring system and the Notice of Series at www.sailing.org/isafsailingworldcup.