Taking offshore racing to the world

by Bob Wonders on 23 Jun 2010 A Canadian television production company is set to give offshore powerboat racing a tremendous boost to its visibility with plans to produce a magazine style, 13 episode television series on the exciting sport.

Scheduled to be filmed later this year, the series will include the US National Offshore Championships off Maryland and the World Championships slated for Alabama's Gulf of Mexico coastline.

Initially, the television series will reach more than 75 million households across the United States, while syndication is in progress that could see the series going to more than 120 million viewers in 46 countries.

The Canadian company, Iceman Productions, based in Toronto, will film the offshore action in High Definition format to the international broadcast guidelines and standards associated with renowned broadcaster ESPN.

Iceman Production will use highly professional camera crews, including on-board equipment, and helicopters to film the racing, with final production carried out in the company's state-of-the-art studio facilities in Toronto.

Roger Piggott, Executive Producer/Director of Iceman Productions, described offshore powerboat racing as 'a sport fuelled by adrenalin.'

'Offshore racing is a passionate display of skill and courage that creates a theatre of excitement for armchair viewers,' he added.

The series will cover nine classes of offshore competition, through to the massive five-tonne catamarans boasting 2500hp-plus turbine engines and delivering speeds in excess of 200mph (321km/hr).

Roger Piggot said the programs would also include a 'detailed look' behind the scenes of offshore racing, including informative lifestyle interviews.

'Each episode of the series will highlight the competition, performance and race team profiles, with a close-up look at the pre-race preparation by the race crews,' he explained.

'All episodes will be designed specifically to accommodate regional, national and international television broadcast requirements,' he added.

Well-known race boats scheduled to compete include the Middle East's 'Top Gun', Qatar 96, crewed by Sheik Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and eight-time World champion throttleman Steve Curtis and the wickedly fast American boat Miss Geico.

Needless to say, sponsors are already lining up to be part of the program, titled 'The World Offshore Powerboat Championship Series.'

Sponsorship packages will be tailored to meet specific marketing needs.

Overall, the television series will be syndicated to network partners in Canada, the United States and across the Caribbean.

Each network partner will receive 13 ready-to-air programs.

We can only hope an Australian television broadcaster comes on board as a network partner.

For further information and advertising details, contact Roger Piggott, e-mail Iceman59(at)primus.ca