The City Hall was packed to the brim today in Valencia as Mayor Rita Barbera and Francisco Camps, President of the Valencian Community, welcomed the 104 members of Team Alinghi. High-ranking politicians, diplomats and representatives of Spanish sport and culture watched as the final line was engraved on the America's Cup: Alinghi's historic victory in Auckland in 2003.
This ceremony completes the circle for Alinghi that began in 2000 with the campaign, brought the Cup to Geneva in 2003 and now ends for the time being in Valencia, where Alinghi intends to defend the Cup in 2007. The 120 journalists and 14 TV stations that squeezed into the town hall were proof that Alinghi has grown beyond its sporting roots.
"We are here to win the Cup again," said Ernesto Bertarelli, owner and president of Alinghi. "But we are also here to help develop the city of Valencia, to build bridges between nations and people, especially between Switzerland and Spain." The fact that Alinghi's wishes will soon be realised was demonstrated by the vote of Geneva State Councillor Carlo Lamprecht, who announced economic, cultural and educational cooperation. A memorandum of understanding between the Lake Geneva region in Switzerland and the Valencia region is due to be signed shortly.
Brad Butterworth (three-time America's Cup winner, tactician and Vice President of Alinghi's Board of Directors) explained that the decision to move to Valencia was driven by the desire to train hard and efficiently. "But we are also here to participate in the life of Valencia. We want to be welcomed by this community. That's why I'm delighted that athletes from football, basketball, handball, athletics, motorcycling, swimming, car racing, blind sports, sailing, squash and tennis have welcomed us here."
"You can't be the home team if you only work here, you have to be truly integrated." To support this, Alinghi has launched a number of projects to bring fans even closer to the team. In autumn 2005, Alinghi will inaugurate its main base in Valencia, which will provide the team with excellent working conditions. The base will not only house the two AC yachts, it will also provide space for 110 workstations, a team restaurant and a fitness centre.
To share the America's Cup adventure with its fans, Alinghi is also setting up a large interactive zone. Here, fans can experience the America's Cup races and the Alinghi team spirit at first hand. Next to the base, Alinghi will set up a true-to-original America's Cup class simulator, which corresponds to the winning boat, the SUI 64. Up to eleven men can train manoeuvres on this simulator.
"One of the most difficult things is to give the many sailors without America's Cup experience a feeling for the daily work and mutual understanding under racing conditions," says Grant Simmer, co-director of Alinghi, describing the idea behind the simulator. "Our boat builders Décision and the marketing team designed the concept and it is much more than just a high-tech toy. Of course we will have a lot of fun with it, but our aim is to share the experience of working together on a boat like this with as many people as possible."
The base will also be home to the new Alinghi Academy, where Alinghi fans can learn from the team. The SUI-64 simulator will certainly be one of the big attractions here. There will also be 7.5 metre LOA boats available for five students and one instructor each. The aim of the programme is not simply sailing school, but for the participants to learn what top performances and successes good teamwork can lead to.
Alinghi is also announcing a new, unique collaboration with the Instituto de Empresa Madrid, one of the most prestigious business schools in the Spanish-speaking world. The two partners will offer a management programme lasting two to three days every three months.
For its Spanish friends and fans from the Valencia region, Alinghi has recently launched a Spanish-language website in addition to its English, German and French websites. The 1992 Olympic champion and Alinghi strategist Jordi Calafat from Spain is delighted to be part of a multinational team and is happy that his team now also has a voice in Spanish.
Calafat: "The Alinghi team is made up of 18 nations. After the Swiss, the Spanish members are now the second largest group within the team. The Alinghi Friends Zone&apos on the website allows fans to follow our activities directly. We also offer exclusive access to the interactive zone, invitations to certain Friends Events&apos or the chance to receive hospitality during the races, which makes the adventure even more exciting."
After the reception in the town hall, Alinghi welcomed handball legend Iñaki Urdangarin and Valencia FC captain Ruben Baraja on board as Spain's sporting representatives. The SUI 64 and SUI 75 sailed out of the Darsena into the open sea to celebrate the official start of the Alinghi campaign in Valencia.
Despite all these activities in Valencia, Alinghi does not want to forget its home waters in Switzerland. With the support of Swiss Sailing, UBS and Alinghi have founded the UBS Alinghi Swiss Tour to promote sailing in Switzerland. The series of five match races, which begins in Zurich in May and ends six months later with the final in Valencia, has generated an unexpectedly large response.
The Alinghi teams, led by strategist Jordi Calafat (in Zurich), helmsman Ed Baird (in Thun and probably Geneva), helmsman Peter Holmberg (in Lugano) and strategist Murray Jones (in Romanshorn) will be up against strong competition. Instead of the expected 25 to 30, 48 Swiss teams have already registered to date and a further 26 teams from all over the world (NZL, AUS, POL, DEN, NED, GER, FRA, ITA, KRO). The tour is supported by the new co-sponsors Kronenbourg, Nespresso and Franke.
