Volvo has become the official automotive partner of World Sailing, the sport’s international governing body.
As part of an ambitious plan, World Sailing will partner with the Volvo Ocean Race, owned by Volvo Group and Volvo Car Group, to develop the next generation of offshore sailors.
“World Sailing is delighted to partner with Volvo as they have been fully committed to developing sailing worldwide for many years,” World Sailing president Kim Andersen says.
“They are an ambitious, forward thinking partner who match World Sailing’s vision and mission for the entire sport. They will be a crucial partner for World Sailing, working with us across all of our titled events, sustainability programmes and will have exclusivity in the automotive sector.”
The partnership is a signal of the Volvo Ocean Race’s commitment to the sport and future of offshore sailing.
The next stage of that process will be to set-out a clear pathway for offshore sailors from across the globe. This will include the creation of Volvo Ocean Race Academies, designed to provide a stepping stone for young offshore sailors.
World Sailing has also proposed an offshore showcase event to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Volvo Ocean Race has pledged full support for the bid.
“We see the Volvo Ocean Race at the apex of the offshore sailing pyramid,” Volvo Ocean Race chief executive officer Mark Turner says.
If any Olympic offshore showcase event is approved by the IOC, then the Volvo Ocean Race will be positioned to provide a path towards the Olympic Games, with a qualification or test event potentially taking place at one of our stopovers, Turner says.
Volvo has a long-running commitment to sailing and previously worked with the sport’s world governing body, acting as title sponsor of the Youth Sailing World Championships from 1999 to 2010.
