Seiko and the International 49Er Class Association Extend Their Partnership, and Announce

Seiko and the International 49er Class Association extend their partnership, and announce a new sponsorship of the 29erXX class.

Three years ago, Seiko and the International 49er Class Association forged a new kind of partnership in the world of sailing. Seiko became the sponsor of the Class worldwide, and has supported the global growth of 49er sailing with an innovative package of financial resource, equipment and aid for the development of the sport in emerging markets.

Seiko and the 49er Class have now agreed to extend the partnership for a further year, up to the end of March 2010. Under the terms of the new agreement, Seiko will have a significant presence at the 49er World Championships in July in Italy and the European Championships in Croatia in August, and will continue its financial and technical support to the Class.

In addition, in an important expansion of the programme, Seiko will become the sponsor of the 29erXX Class, the increasingly popular sister class to the 49er. As with the 49er Class, Seiko will assist the 29erXX Class Association to develop the sport on a worldwide basis and will support its efforts to achieve the highest levels of international recognition. This new sponsorship will support the promotion of Seiko’s women’s Velatura watch collection, and Seiko will award prizes to the winners of the 29erXX Championships that will take place alongside the 49er Worlds on Lake Garda in July.

Furthermore, the Seiko 49er Speed Challenge will continue throughout the year. In this exciting programme, any 49er sailor competing in any ISAF World Cup series event or at the 2009 Worlds and Europeans will have a chance to beat the speed record for the new 49er, equipped with its new carbon rig. At present, the record is held by Simon Hiscocks and Rick Peacock from Great Britain. The overall ‘Seiko Speed Kings’ at the end of the season will receive 49er equipment to a value of $5,000, along with the very latest Seiko Velatura watches.

Marcus Spillane, CEO of the International 49er Class Association welcomed the broadening of Seiko’s involvement in the sport.

“We are thrilled that Seiko has renewed its partnership with the 49ers, and extended it to the 29erXX Class. Ours is a partnership that works well for both parties and we greatly appreciate Seiko’s support and confidence in the future of both 49er and 29erXX sailing.”

Ends.