World Sailing News Esailgp Championship Returns with New

World Sailing News

eSailGP Championship returns with new innovations for 2021

With less than three weeks before the eight international teams meet on the water in Bermuda for the league's return to racing, SailGP today launched the 2021 eSailGP Championship.

Building on the success of the inaugural season, which saw more than 146,000 unique players take part across 55,783 individual races, fans will have a chance to test their skills piloting one of the most innovative race boats in the world in a virtual environment on new courses and with new-look boats. The Championship winner will be rewarded with an all-inclusive package to a SailGP event in 2022 and a place in the 2021 eSailing World Championship Final.

In partnership with World Sailing and Virtual Regatta, the championship will feature six qualification events over the course of the first half of the season, with a spot in the eSailGP Grand Final on October 15 up for grabs for the winners. The eSailGP Grand Final will see the two gamers with the highest points after three fleet races face off in a single winner-takes-all match race.

Two wildcard berths will also be available at the final for a female player and a youth player, who will be selected by a panel of judges. This initiative is in line with SailGP's immediate focus on the advancement of gender equity and its program to fast-track the training and development of female athletes for participation in SailGP. eSailGP Season 1 amassed 753,000 views on SailGP's social platforms and the league has been working to further bring the live shows to life for players and followers, including enhanced graphics, explainer videos and a reinforced expert commentary team. Shay Thompson will return for her first full season as host and she is no stranger to the world of gaming. She is currently the host of McClaren's Shadowcast, streams for Xbox Interactive, presents panels and podcasts for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and is the founder of Level Up Link Up, an event aimed to make the games industry a more diverse place.

She'll be joined by Olympic champion and Japan SailGP Team helm Nathan Outteridge, who will transfer his expertise from the racecourse to the eSailGP commentary team for the first time, alongside his teammate and flight controller Leo Takahashi.

SailGP Head of Content Jose Garnes said: "As an organisation, we strive to be at the forefront of innovation and we aim to make our sport as accessible and inclusive as possible. Our revamped eSailGP championship is an opportunity for fans to engage with SailGP in a new way, while introducing a new audience of gamers to the sport and diversifying our fan base. We've seen there is a big appetite for this type of gaming, particularly over the last year with many live sports fans and athletes turning to esports in lieu of real-life action, and we're excited to use this platform to introduce more people to our sport."

British eSailor Mike O'Donovan won the inaugural season after seven months of hard-fought virtual battles. To launch the 2021 eSailGP Championship, he joined some of the game's top players, including French player Peptio from the MCES esport team and Andrea Emone who was a participant in the Spain SailGP Team women's invitational camp earlier this year, for the ultimate invitational event. eSailGP races are 5-6 minutes long and feature up to 10 players per game. The championship is integrated into the Virtual Regatta Inshore platform, the largest sailing community in the world with more than 1.6 million players.

Training opens for each eSailGP qualification event a few days before the real-life racing kicks off, and the courses mimic the iconic venues where the global championship is hosting races at the respective time. The first event of the season kicks off with the Bermuda eSailGP, April 17-18. eSailGP can be played on Desktop, iOS and Android. Watch the eSailGP invitation #3 at 8pm BST, March 31 here.

World Sailing and Musto forge a partnership to benefit the global sailing community

World Sailing, the world governing body of the sport, is delighted to announce Musto as its Official Clothing Partner through to 2025. The partnership will enable collaboration between World Sailing and Musto to cement Musto's position as the number one performance sailing brand in the world. Musto is a brand synonymous with sailing. Steeped in a rich heritage, Musto continue to bring innovative, game changing products to the sailing community to improve performance on the water.

The brand of choice for Olympians, Paralympians, national teams and record-breakers around the world, Musto are pioneers and share World Sailing's vision for a world in which millions more fall in love with sailing.

As part of the World Sailing and Musto partnership, the community of International Race Officials, responsible for governing the sport on the water at global events, will wear Musto clothing at World Sailing events. In addition, the World Sailing Team will wear Musto at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

World Sailing Chief Executive Officer, David Graham, said, "Musto was an obvious choice for World Sailing's Official Clothing Partner due to their long and successful legacy in sailing. We are delighted to be partnering with them. "Their pace of change and innovation is impressive. Our sport is evolving very quickly with much faster boats which puts a greater demand on the kit we wear. Musto have responded quickly, enabling the sailors to focus on performing. "World Sailing has ambitious sustainability goals and it was hugely important that Musto are pioneering in this space in their industry. The partnership covers the depth and breadth of our sport, which will enable us to collaborate on many levels and in turn grow global participation."

The announcement was made today [4 March 2021] at Musto's virtual Brand Showcase event in London. The World Sailing announcement was part of a wider programme of activity that demonstrated Musto's experience and expertise in sailing, with ambassadors dialling in to the Brand Showcase event for exclusive interviews with the international media. Among them were some of the sport's biggest names including: Tokyo Olympic Games team members John Gimson and Anna Burnet of the British Sailing Team, Charlie Enright of 11th Hour Racing Team, and French offshore sailor, Clarisse Crémer - who recently finished 12th in this year's Vendée Globe.

Scott Over, Commercial Director at World Sailing, added, "The partnership between World Sailing and Musto will enable both parties to work hand in hand to bring innovative and high-performance clothing to the global sailing community. We value the work our Race Officials deliver and look forward to providing them with the kit to allow them to deliver their work on and off the water as well as providing them with an online portal for supplementary items."

"Our partnership with World Sailing is the umbrella under which everything sits, allowing us to create brand advocacy by engaging the global sailing community from grassroots to Olympic level." explained Nick Houchin, Musto's Head of Marketing. "This partnership cements our position as the sailing world's leading performance clothing brand and will support our global growth ambitions. Now we are the Official Clothing Partner of sailing's governing body, we are looking forward to communicating and working with a truly global audience. It is something we are immensely excited about and proud to be a part of."

For more information on Musto's partnership with World Sailing, please visit www.musto.com.