Don’t miss the excitement of the fastest growing sports league in the world
Imagine a mash-up of the Polo and motor racing on water — now throw in hydrofoiling catamarans, thrills and spills and a vibrant party atmosphere, and you’ve got some idea of what the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix is like.
The brainchild of Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP is now in its third season, having become one of the fastest growing sports leagues in the world, bringing the excitement of live sport to cities globally since 2018, including Singapore in January and Sydney in February.
Now New Zealanders will get the chance to experience the heart-stopping racing and dynamic city-wide spectacle when the inaugural ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix is held at Whakaraupō, Lyttelton Harbour in Christchurch on March 18-19 (with Auckland hosting the fourth season in March 2024).
For two days, Ōtautahi will be transformed when 400 staff arrive with 100+ shipping containers to create a harbourside village and Colosseum-style amphitheatre at Naval Point, from which to watch all the on-water action. VIP guests will be catered to by local celebrity chefs such as The Lodge Bar Group’s Matt Lambert and renowned Christchurch seafood restaurant Hali.
As guests enjoy the luxurious hospitality on offer, they’ll take in a style of catamaran sailing unlike anything seen in the country before. Nine international teams will race on a course that is large enough for the made-in-Warkworth boats to push themselves as far as physically possible, yet small enough so that spectators can witness each 15-minute race in its entirety. Each boat is identical, meaning teams are on equal footing from the start, relying solely on their nautical skills and technical expertise, something New Zealand SailGP Team stars Peter Burling and Blair Tuke know a fair bit about.
“It’s tight racing — there are crashes and collisions, it’s a tight course with a lot more boats on it, and because of the design of the precinct, everyone is connected in one area, so you’ll see it all literally meters away from you,” says SailGP’s chief commercial officer and head of the New Zealand event, Karl Budge.
The event is not only destined to be a dynamic spectator event, one that you don’t necessarily need a depth of sailing knowledge to appreciate, it will also be the first “climate-positive” sports league, hence the materials for the village arriving by ship in order to reduce its carbon impact. Outside the racing, teams will get involved in a range of initiatives, including community service projects and the SailGP Inspire programme to inspire a younger generation of sailors
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Advertise with NZME.Although tickets to the event sold out in less than 24 hours, spectactors can still get involved by heading to the Christchurch city centre where the action will be broadcast free, along with entertainment, food and drinks, as several of the city’s local businesses, restaurants and bars get involved.
“There’s a real energy around a major event returning to Christchurch after a long time of cancellations and disruptions caused by the earthquakes and then obviously Covid,” says Karl. “There’s real enthusiasm there, but what’s really exciting is that of that sellout crowd, 51 per cent are coming from outside of Christchurch, boosting visitation and new spend coming into the region.”
The New Zealand team is currently second on the leaderboard behind Australia following the racing in Singapore, so while the stakes are high, we have a decent shot of making the final in San Francisco this May.
Aucklanders can also look forward to hosting the event, when the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix comes to the City of Sails in March next year, part of plans to alternate between the two cities over the next four years, in an effort to bring the event to as many New Zealanders as possible.
“I wholeheartedly believe SailGP has the potential to become a superpower for sports and entertainment,” says Karl.
Catch all the action of the inaugural ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix live on Sky Sport and free-to-air on Three and ThreeNow, March 18-19, with racing kicking off from 3-4.30pm.
