Alpari World Match Racing Tour Series to partner with IMG Worldwide

by Alpari World Match Racing Tour on 13 May 2013 IMG Media, a division of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has signed a long-term partnership with the Alpari World Match Racing Tour to increase global viewing of the leading professional sailing series.

The engagement will see IMG Media distribute a series of highlights programmes from each event, as well as a daily video news release (VNR) to all forms of media, including digital, throughout the series which begins with the first event in Langenargen, Germany, from May 15-20.

Sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with ‘Special Event’ status, the series awards over US$1.5 million in prize money with points awarded at each event culminating in the crowning of the 'ISAF Match Racing World Champion'. The prize fund includes a US$500,000 overall Tour Bonus for the top teams in the Championship.

James Pleasance, Executive Director of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour commented, 'This is a very exciting partnership for us. IMG is a global player in television programming and has a solid track record in distributing some of the best known sporting events all over the world. The Tour is a growing series and to have the expertise and resource of IMG behind us will be a great asset for us.'

Melissa Payne, Director of Event Coordination IMG Media, said: 'Match racing is fast, competitive and highly strategic with in-shore racing engaging and exciting sailing fans of all ages. The Alpari World Match Racing Tour is ideally suited to all forms of media and we are confident with our expertise and worldwide network that we will be able to increase exposure and drive awareness of the Tour and its events globally.'

Eight tour card holders will be competing against one another on the 2013 season for the ISAF Match Racing World Cahmpionship . The skippers include four time World Champion British skipper Ian Williams (GAC Pindar), Swedish favourites Björn Hansen (Hansen Sailing Team) and Johnie Berntsson (Stena Sailing Team), Phil Robertson (WAKA Racing) and Adam Minoprio (Team Alpari FX) from New Zealand, Australian skipper Keith Swinton (Black Swan Racing), Pierre-Antoine Morvan (Vannes Agglo Sailing Team) from France and the youngest skipper Taylor Canfield (USone Sailing Team) from the US Virgin Islands.

The World Match Racing Tour was formed as an annual circuit in 2000 and has grown in stature with Alpari signing a five-year title sponsorship agreement last year. The Tour has featured some of the world’s greatest sailors including multiple Olympic medallist Sir Ben Ainslie, Russell Coutts, Peter Gilmour, Magnus Holmberg and Jamie Spithill, skipper of the Oracle America’s Cup WMRT website