2019 will be an exciting year for Filipino sailors in Subic Bay, the main stage for sailing competition for the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the end of this year.
Preparations have already started here in Subic Bay Freeport. The appointed sailing competition manager for the SEA Games and Vice Chairman of the Philippine Sailing Association, Jerry Rollins, together with Ernesto “Judes” Echauz, PSA President is making sure that our athletes and race officials are trained and ready including the equipment and the venue as well.
The Subic Sailing Club, organizer of the top sailing events in Subic Bay and has raised the standards of competitive yacht racing in the country by providing a platform that provides professional and highly-competitive regattas allowing our Filipino sailors to go head-on with top-notch sailors across the globe, is working with the Philippine Sailing Association in the preparations for the SEA Games by aligning their events towards the training of our athletes and race officials as well as the preparation of all the equipments and venue that will be used.
This will start off with the 2nd Subic Bay Around Verde Island Passage Race (SBVIP), a 200-nautical mile off-shore race around the center of the center of marine biodiversity on Feb 22-24. It will be followed by the Subic Bay Cup Regatta (SBCR) which will feature IRC 1, IRC 2, Cruising Class and the Far East 28R One Design class. This year, for the first time, there will be a FarEast 28R Match Racing sanctioned by the World Sailing Federation which will take place on February 24-28 and followed by the One-Design Fleet Racing on March 1-2, both of which will serve as a “Practice Race” not just for the local and international athletes joining the SEA Games but also for the Race Committee and venue as well. (Interested to join? Click here for the Official Notice of Race and Application Form)
Subic Bay has become a premier destination for yacht racing thanks to the efforts and partnership of the Subic Sailing Club and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the government agency behind the Subic Bay Freeport Economic Zone. On April 25-30 will be the inaugural Chairman’s Cup Regatta (CCR), a tribute to the leaders or helms of SBMA who have played a significant role in making Subic Bay a playground for grand prix keelboats, fostering camaraderie among sailors from around the globe. The regatta will have a variety of boats from dinghies (Optimist, 420, 470, Streaker Class), keelboats (IRC 1, IRC 2, Cruising, Multihulls Class) and even windsurfers (RS: One, RSX Class). SSC continues to support the diversity of boats and sailors, giving opportunities to young and beginner sailors through its variety of classes. This 6-day event is envisioned to be the paragon of the development of sailing in the country and hopes to encourage more Filipinos to know more about the sport as well as explore their own maritime heritage and culture. It will take the place of the Commodore’s Cup Regatta in the Asian Yachting Grand Prix Circuit (AYGP) but will remain as a local club race in June.
It is indeed going to be action-packed in Subic Bay for the first quarter of the year. These upcoming regattas are 2 out of 12 events in the AYGP Circuit and are significant contributors to the growth of marine tourism and sports in Subic Bay, and to the positioning of Subic Bay as a world-class sports tourism destination.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
These are fantastic platforms for access to a broad cross-section of well-traveled and influential audiences who develop a high degree of loyalty for brands who share a passion for their sport. Competitive sailing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the sports sponsorship marketplace which offers invaluable networking and branding opportunities. Subic Sailing Club would like to invite companies who want to align themselves to an event that epitomizes prestige, excellence, innovation, teamwork, sportsmanship, ocean conservation, and maritime heritage. (Are you interested to be part of the event? Please contact zedavecilla@subicsailing.com)