| China Sails |
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| April 2006 | |
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The country’s first entry into the America’s Cup America’s Cup has always been an obsession for the world’s wealthy and now that China has a new elite class it wants to join the race, and so in the true embodiment of “East meets West,” the French and the Chinese have come together in what promises to be a historical partnership.  China Team at America's Cup “Sailing is a very prestigious sport with an even longer history than the Olympics,” says China Team owner Chaoyong Wang, a venture capitalist. “As one of the emerging sports countries we shouldn’t be excluded from such an important event.” The America’s Cup dates to 1851, 45 years before the first Olympics.
“The French have a strong passion for sailing,” Wang adds. “In Italy and France people love to sail. In China, people don’t think that way. At this moment we’re just promoting more interest in sailing to improve the Chinese life quality and add a new family leisure activity.” He adds that many people now have disposable income to spend on relaxation. An indication of this new wealth is the opening of more than 20 yacht clubs along the China coastline. “There are more and more rich people, millionaires and billionaires in China,” adds Remi Villard, public relations director for China Team. “Sailing is part of the ‘rich model’ in Europe and America, so China wants to take part.” The teamwork, often facilitated with the help of translators, was in full swing in March, when the Le Defi team traveled to Shanghai to hold a two week training camp for the Chinese Olympic sailors. “It’s difficult to hire Chinese sailors because they are used to the Olympic series with little boats and only one to two sailors on board,” Villard says. In comparison, the America’s Cup boats typically hold 18 sailors and weigh 25 tons. “They are not used to sailing big boats so it’s big challenge to teach them specifics, but the Chinese sailors were very excited about the opportunity to race in Spain on big boats. For them it’s like winning the world cup of soccer,” Villard says. Wang and others behind China Team hope this excitement and energy will carry over to the people of China. To drum up interest for their effort, an April 1 concert, “China Sails into the America’s Cup,” was broadcast on China Central TV, the country’s largest network. “Our sponsors wanted to have exposure in China so we came to the conclusion that a TV concert would be the most effective way to reach out,” Wang says. His wife, Li Yifei, president of MTV China, also weighed in on the promotion. “My wife gave us good advice on media and branding strategy,” Wang says. And branding is a significant factor for China who is motivated to garner world attention via this international event. In fact, in many ways the America’s Cup has always been about publicity, from an Irishman named Sir Thomas Lipton who lost the Cup but successfully hawked his tea in the 1890’s, to Ted Turner who promoted a new concept called cable TV news in the 1970s. Today Prada, Louis Vuitton, a Swiss bio-tech firm called Serono, BMW, United Arab Emirates Airlines and the country of China are among those vying for the world’s attention. “We already hosted Formula 1 in Shanghai, and Beijing is hosting the Olympics in 2008. It would be no problem for China to host the America’s Cup, but in order to hold it here we must win the right,” Wang says. Whoever wins the Cup decides where it will take place. Switzerland won the 31st America’s Cup, but since they are a landlocked country they put it out to bid and Valencia, Spain won the rights. China has no illusions about winning this time, but is still receiving plenty of attention. “This will be one of the most popular teams of the 32nd America’s Cup – without a doubt,” Villard boasts. “Over 1.3 billion Chinese nationals will be cheering on this team, as well as its supporters from France. The media coverage will be spectacular! Maybe we don’t have the quickest boat,” laughs Xavier de Lesquen, founder of Le Defi and the executive manager of China Team, “but the team will be very original and attractive for the people.” "The scores aren't important at this stage," says Bruno Troublé, creator of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the sailing race that determines which country will challenge the defender of the America’s Cup trophy. "What matters is that the crew is developing through competing with the best sailors in the world. The China challenge is crucial for the development of sailing in this huge country.” Syndicates, teams, often spend tens of millions of dollars building boats, paying professional sailors, and traveling the world during the multi-year America’s Cup races. Larry Ellison, team owner of BMW ORACLE Racing, has reportedly invested 80 million dollars of his own money in an attempt to bring the Cup back to America. China is spending 30 million euros and saves money by using one of Le Defi’s old boats leftover from its earlier Cup attempts. “The money we are spending is very small compared to other countries,” says Wang. “But money and winning are not that related. We have a Chinese way of doing the project which is much more economical. We spend every penny on improving performance — we don’t spend money on hospitality programs or big salaries. It is a very lean and small team.” Although this is China’s first official entry in the Cup they are partly responsible for the U.S. win in 1851. John Cox Steven, commodore of the New York Yacht Club, won the very first America’s Cup race by building a schooner modeled after the swift Chinese clipper import/export boats. The boat named “America” beat Britain, until then the undisputed rulers of the sea. More than a mere boat race, the America’s Cup symbolized a great victory for the new world over the old. It would take well over 100 years before the trophy would leave American hands, the longest winning streak in sports history. In the 32nd America’s Cup, there is only one U.S. entry and no teams from England. In addition to China, South Africa and Germany are also first time entrants, making this the most diverse America’s Cup yet with twelve syndicates representing ten countries. “Maybe the future is without these two nations (U.S. and U.K.) and those nations that need the credibility in the 'western world' like China and South Africa will continue to aspire to the America’s Cup,” speculates Marcus Hutchinson, Media Relations Director for the America’s Cup. “It might be once again that an emerging nation is getting ready to pounce . . .” |
The Chinese are partnering with Le Defi, a French team that has competed in the past two America’s Cup series. “We were thinking of building a new team from scratch and they were looking for a partner,” Wang says. He predicts that the team will become a unique interface between Western and Asian worlds. 
