Volvo Ocean Race- Jump seat and Pro-Am race spots up for auction

by Jane Eagleson on 23 Jan 2015 Children’s heart health continues to benefit from Team Alvimedica’s online auction now underway for two unique experiences during the Volvo Ocean Race stopover here. The Chinese Agape Foundation Inc. will be the recipient of funds raised for these unique team experiences in Sanya, the next stopover port of the global ocean race.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]Bidding has started on the seven Pro-Am Race spots and the 'Jump Seat,' two separate once-in-a lifetime experiences on board Team Alvimedica. The auction winners will be part of Team Alvimedica as they compete in Sanya in early February. Bids can be made now at www.teamalvimedica.com/auction. Team Alvimedica has raised more than $30,000 for pediatric heart health charities since the Volvo Ocean Race started from Spain in October.

'Words cannot express the joy in my heart when I know there will be funds coming to save the lives of children with congenital heart disease,' said Ron Brown, Chairman and Founder of the Chinese Agape Foundation Inc. 'These children would die without the life giving surgeries. About 300,000 children are born with congenital heart disease each year, and it is our goal to increase the number of open-heart surgeries to 50 per year. It is a great honor to be a part of the Team Alvimedica initiative during the Sanya stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race,' Brown said.

'All of the proceeds from the auction will benefit this locally designated heart charity,' said Dr. Cem Bozkurt, CEO of Alvimedica, the global medical devices company specializing in interventional cardiology that is the Team’s owner. 'It is our hope that this initiative will be a small step toward supporting heart health in China and at each of the stopover communities of the Volvo Ocean Race worldwide.'

Sailing fans have the chance to bid on bringing their own team of five to seven people to join the Team Alvimedica race crew on one of the Pro-Am Races in the stopover. These in-port races precede the leg start and offer sailing fans the rare opportunity to actually be involved in crew maneuvers with the professional race team as they compete against the Volvo Ocean Race fleet.

Bids can be placed on the team’s web site at www.teamalvimedica.com/auction.

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The Jump Seat experience involves departing the dock with the race crew and being on board for the initial racing before the fleet leaves the stopover port. In Sanya, the fleet sets out on February 8 for a 5,264 nautical-mile leg to Auckland, New Zealand. The initial part of the Leg is sailed inshore with each of the Volvo Ocean Race teams having a Jump Seat guest on board. The Jump Seat riders experience the exhilarating moments of the start before leaping overboard at a safe moment in the race. The 'Jumpers' are then retrieved by a tender boat and brought safely back to shore.

For the details of this exciting auction opportunity, visit the team web site at www.teamalvimedica.com/auction. Bidding closes January 27 for the Pro-Am spots and February 1 for the 'Jump Seat.'

To view the actual experience that can be won through the online auction, watch this video here.



The Chinese Agape Foundation Inc. is a United States 501(c)(3) charitable organization headquartered in Lewisville, Texas. Our vision is a world in which all children have an equal opportunity for good physical care and education. Our mission is to provide physical care and education for the millions of underprivileged children of China, including surgeries, in either China or the USA, for poor children with congenital heart diseases.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]Visit the Foundation’s website at www.chineseagape.org.
Team Alvimedica is the youngest entry in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015, the world's toughest and longest sporting event. The crew is led by American skipper Charlie Enright, age 30. Alvimedica, the European based medical devices company, is the team’s owner. Founded in 2007, Alvimedica is a fast growing challenger in the global field of interventional cardiology, committed to developing minimally-invasive technologies. This is the team’s first entry in the extremely challenging 39,000-mile race that started October 11, 2014 from Alicante, Spain and features stopovers in 11 ports around the world.

In the United States, TV coverage continues on the NBC Sports Network on Friday, January 16th at 11pm (ET).
Follow Team Alvimedica on:

www.teamalvimedica.com

www.facebook.com/TeamAlvimedica

www.volvooceanrace.com