Auckland to Bluff - the local view

[Fish 0]

As OC has completely fucked the other thread, I thought I'd start this one on the local views of the event in Bluff:

 

Now I don't wan't to be a negative chap - the folks at RAYC are putting a lot of effort into organising a top shelf yacht race, and there are a number of legitimate and exciting EoI's - but the same issue keeps coming up, why so much money to run a yacht race.

 

How much did it cost SSANZ to go into Oban - $1/2 mil? This is a company, not good honest yacht clubs, after the cash.

 

Southland ratepayers are being asked to stump up for the race, on top of the $440k govt money. Southland locals are suspicious of the Auckland COMPANY asking for more cash - not yacht club.

 

There are some classic Southland quotes in this link:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/ ... ce-funding

 

 

Given the event would be managed and owned by an Auckland-based company, a lot more development work was needed before any Invercargill ratepayer money was committed, he said.

He believed Invercargill and Bluff were missing out on business opportunities associated with servicing and maintaining visiting yachts because there was nowhere safe in Bluff to moor boats that were under 20 metres long and not built of steel.

 

People would want to visit Bluff when the Auckland to Bluff race yachts arrived and that could only happen if there were appropriate facilities along the Bluff waterfront, he said.

 

Bluff Community Board chairwoman Jan Mitchell told councillors the Auckland to Bluff Yacht Race would bring significant economic benefits to Bluff, Invercargill and Southland.

 

But immediate assistance was needed from the city council to tidy up Bluff and bring it to an "acceptable standard" before the race next February.

 

Blocked sumps needed to be fixed, overgrowth needed to be removed in various parts of town and some properties needed urgent maintenance or demolition, Mrs Mitchell said.

[Guest]

I am not a fan of this top down style of producing a race. It is also killing the America's Cup.

 

The way it should work is that some "competitors" decide they'd like to race somewhere. Other competitors think they would like to join in, the event becomes a success (after being run for some years on a shoestring budget). This has happened in the past - Coastal Classic - SSANZ racing.

Eventually it becomes big enough to attract the attention of a sponsor. If the sponsor tries to mess with the race to improve "marketing opportunities" he should be told to go elsewhere - as should happen with the Volvo Race. The event can always returm to its grassroots and carry on.

 

The idea of building an event that will attract money is just plain wrong - people should be entering events because they love what they do, not as puppets for some corporate.

 

IMHO.

 

PS - I have no interest in professional rugby, professional league, professional tennis, professional car racing etc, it isn't sport , it is just an arm of the entertainment industry.