Team
Alinghi To Host U.S. Regatta In June 2004
"UBS
Trophy At Newport, Rhode Island"
New
York, December 12, 2003 - Team Alinghi, winners
of the America's Cup 2003, will host a new event,
the UBS Trophy, Newport, Rhode Island from June
19 - 26, 2004. UBS, the global financial services
leader, will be the title sponsor of the event,
with co-sponsors, local sponsors and suppliers
announced next spring. The regatta will give teams
an opportunity to compete against each other in
the United States prior to America's Cup Management
events scheduled in Europe later next year.
The 7-day match racing series will be held on
the historic waters off Newport, Rhode Island,
the historic home of the America's Cup. Under
the management of Team Alinghi, but with an independent
Race Committee appointed by the New York Yacht
Club, the racing will start and finish in front
of Fort Adams (weather permitting).
"The
UBS Trophy, Rhode Island is an important event
for Team Alinghi, as it will be the official start
of our campaign for the Americas Cup 2007,"
said Russell Coutts, Team Alinghi's leader. "It
will also be an organizational challenge for us,
as we are committed to run a great event. Bringing
the Cup back to Newport will be fantastic, and
we are very grateful to UBS for helping us make
this event possible."
By
sponsoring the UBS Trophy, Rhode Island, UBS is
underscoring its commitment to America's Cup sailing
and launching its Team Alinghi sponsorship to
a targeted U.S. audience.
"The
UBS Trophy, Rhode Island provides UBS with a unique
way to extend our sponsorship of Team Alinghi
and our involvement with America's Cup sailing
to a U.S. audience," said John Costas, chairman
and chief executive of UBS Investment Bank. "We
are thrilled to help bring this event to Newport
and proud to be involved with the effort to make
America's Cup-style racing more accessible to
the general public."
The
UBS Trophy, Rhode Island, will herald the first
time that the sleek IACC class have raced off
the famous shores of Newport. The event will be
televised internationally, and an exciting race
format will ensure compelling viewing for sailors
and non-sailors alike.
Said
Donald Carcieri, Rhode Island Governor, "Rhode
Island is excited to be working in partnership
with Alinghi and UBS to bring America's Cup Class
racing back to the Ocean State. It is an honor
for Rhode Island to be in the company of Auckland,
San Francisco and Valencia as venues for this
exciting class."
The
UBS Trophy, Rhode Island, will be accessible to
the public in all respects, with the event base
at the Newport Shipyard providing easy access
to both boats and teams. A full complement of
on-shore festivities including exhibition races
are planned to mark this exciting event.
"We
are looking forward to racing a great series in
Newport, a town steeped in America's Cup tradition,"
said Peter Holmberg, helmsman, Team Alinghi: "It's
been a long time since Americans have had America's
Cup class racing on the East Coast, and our goal
is to keep the racing close to the shore, exciting
and accessible for the public to enjoy. "
The
competition will pitch old rivals and new against
each other, with Oracle BMW Racing having confirmed
their participation and other teams indicating
their desire to race.
A
press conference will be held next spring in Newport
to confirm further details of the event.
The
America's Cup
The America's Cup is the oldest trophy in international
sport. The 32nd America's Cup will consist of
a series of regattas between 2004 and 2007, culminating
in the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America's Cup
Match itself in Valencia, Spain, in 2007.
Team
Alinghi
The defender of the 32nd America's Cup is Team
Alinghi. Alinghi flies the Swiss flag and carries
the colours of the Société Nautique
de Genève. For the 2002- 2003 America's
Cup, the team was backed by UBS and Infonet, as
well as Audemars Piguet and Riri. Its' partners
for the 2007 campaign are UBS, Infonet, Audemars
Piguet, SGS and Nespresso. Visit our Internet
site at www.alinghi.com.
UBS
UBS is one of the world's leading financial firms,
combining financial strength with a reputation
for innovation and a global culture that embraces
change. It is the world's largest wealth manager,
a premier investment banking and securities firm,
and one of the largest global asset managers.
UBS, headquartered in Zurich and Basel, employs
almost 66,000 people and has
operations in over than 50 countries and all major
financial centers.