SAILINGTHE Island’s biggest single sporting event has a guaranteed sponsor for at least another three years.
J. P. Morgan Asset Management has announed its title sponsorship of the Round the Island Race will continue.
The Island Sailing Club has also announced a number of new initiatives for this year’s race, including live race tracking, an online competitor photo gallery and free water taxis, all sponsored by J. P. Morgan Asset Management.
New additions include the launch of bespoke technology allowing spectators to track the positions of boats remotely during the race, an online photo gallery for competitors and free, regular water taxis to ferry sailors between the Folly and the regatta village in Cowes Yacht Haven.
The 2010 race is on Saturday, June 19, and with more than 16,000 sailors of all ages and experience and around 1,800 yachts, the race is now the fouth largest participation sporting event in the UK, after the London Marathon and the Great North and South runs.
Speaking on behalf of the Island Sailing Club, Sonia Mayes, rear commodore sailing, said: "We are aware of the tough times sports sponsorship continues to go through and to be able to have that security of a title sponsor through to 2012 is an immense relief. This renewed sponsorship allows our strong partnership to continue to grow and allows us to keep planning to the good of all concerned."
The Island Sailing Club also announced its intention to introduce live GPS tracking facilities for the 2010 race. Competitors with suitable GPS-equipped mobile phones or laptops will be able to continuously log their position as they sail around the Island. A global online audience of friends, family, sailing fans and media representatives will be able to follow the progress of participating boats via the Round the Island Race website and, after the finish, competitors will be able to replay their race and compare their performance with that of other boats.
The race continues to raise an increasing amount for charitable causes, with £100,000 raised last year.
J.P. Morgan Asset Man-agement has confirmed the SailTime Charity Challenge will take place in 2010 where the four preferred race charities — the Ellen MacArthur Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Breast Cancer Care and Prostate UK — will race against each other in identical Oceanis 40 yachts. Anyone who would like to apply for a place on one of the four SailTime Charity Challenge boats can visit www.roundtheisland.org.uk