2011 has been a big year for OC ThirdPole, living up to its aspiration of becoming a world leader of outdoor events across a variety of playing fields – oceans, lakes, mountains, forests and city centres – since the merger 16 months ago. And 2012 is shaping up to be even bigger as the company announces its plans for the award-winning Extreme Sailing Series™ eight-venue global circuit stretching from Brazil to China, the 2nd edition of the incredibly successful Haute Route™, the world’s toughest and highest amateur bike race from Geneva to Nice that sold out within 8 hours, the 8th edition of the Geneva Marathon for Unicef that attracted record numbers in 2011, and a new Development Squad for the Artemis Offshore Academy.
The core activities of our business are already in place for 2012,” commented OC ThirdPole CEO, Rémi Duchemin. “These foundations allow us to focus on building our portfolio of activities whilst at the same time delivering our existing events and contracts to an exceptionally high standard. We are living in challenging times but if there is one thing the team at OC ThirdPole does incredibly well, it is to rise to a challenge. We are looking forward to 2012 and our continued expansion.”
OC ThirdPole also works for other global brands and leading events, including valued partners such as the MOD70 European Tour, Nespresso with its sailing activities, Biathlon World Cup in Annecy – Le Grand Bornand and in 2011 concluded its four years of work as strategic and technical consultants to Oman Sail, a ground-breaking project that has put sailing at the centre of the socio-economic plan in this rapidly developing country.
2011 in numbers:
17 events organised across sailing, running, cycling and biathlon
21 different venues hosted an OC ThirdPole event
11 different countries, in 4 different continents (Europe, North America, Middle-East, Asia)
80 days of events managed by OC ThirdPole
100 days of competition for the Artemis Offshore Academy
55 days of corporate VIP hospitality
200 days of activity across the different events
365 days of focus!
2012 Extreme Sailing Series™ continues its award-winning global tour, with 8 acts on 3 continents
After an extraordinary and nail-biting finish to what was another ground-breaking, and high quality racing year for the Extreme Sailing Series™, the award-winning Stadium Sailing event has confirmed its 2012 circuit. The same award-winning format, but two new countries and three new venues will accompany five proven Host Cities from the highly-charged 2011 circuit as it enters its sixth year of competition, with 8 events spanning 3 continents. The host venues represent a mix of iconic cities, established sailing venues, and new markets where professional sailing remains in its infancy. “The circuit continues to represent perfectly the developments in the world at large, with its balance of east and west, different cultures and languages, and variety of conditions,” said Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of the organising company OC ThirdPole.
As in 2011, at every Act, three of the racing days are staged in the Stadium open to the public and VIP guests. This game-changing professional sailing circuit attracted over 287,000 spectators in 2011 with its unique blend of ‘stadium’ short-course racing. The 2012 Extreme Sailing Series™ will start in the Sultanate of Oman in February before heading back to Qingdao, China for Act 2. Istanbul, Turkey, the gateway between Europe and Asia, will host Act 3 before the Extreme 40 fleet heads to Porto, Portugal, a new host venue in 2012. After the habitual visit to the UK in August, the circuit will return to the Sicilian port of Trapani for the third consecutive year. The iconic city of Nice will be the final stop in Europe before the 2012 finale to be staged in Brazil for the very first time (there will be an official media event in January where the precise location will be unveiled.
2012 Haute Route™ sold out within 8 hours!
The registration process for the 2nd edition of the Haute Route™ opened four weeks ago, sparking off a phenomenal response from several thousands riders across the globe eager to take on the World’s Toughest and Highest Cyclosportive. After this year’s inaugural edition, the Haute Route™ immediately established a reputation as one of the most grueling, but equally sought after events for amateur cyclists. In less than 8 hours after the entry process opened for the 2012 edition, all 450 places that were allocated for the first phase of registrations had been snapped up.
Without doubt the Haute Route™ has shown it has an international appeal for cycling enthusiasts and training has already begun for participants from 30 nations and from all continents.
To understand the unique nature of this cyclosportive, leading sports channel British Eurosport is showing a 26-minute programme on Wednesday, 21st December at 11.30pm and again on Friday, 23rd December at midnight that relives the exceptional sporting challenge and human journey of the 300 amateur cyclists who battled the first edition last August. Undoubtedly the programme will inspire the 600 participants who will participate in the 2012 Haute Route™ from 19th to 25th August. Featuring a different course between Geneva and Nice, but still including some of the most mythical cols of the Alps and the popular time trial concept mid-event on the legendary ascent of L’Alpe d’Huez, the 2012 event is even harder than 2011, with 780 km, 19 cols and over 21,000 meters to climb (nearly sea level to Everest summit and back 3 times).
New recruits announced for the 2012 Artemis Offshore Academy Development Squad
After a grueling 52-hour selection process, seven British sailors from the 16 participating in the Artemis Offshore Academy Selection Trials were finally recruited to join the Development Squad in 2012. The hopefuls were split into two groups for 52-hours of intense challenges to identify those who had the potential to be a first class short-handed sailor to follow in the footsteps of Britain’s offshore solo sailing legends like Sir Robin Knox Johnston and Dame Ellen MacArthur. UK terrestrial TV channel, Channel 4, broadcast a stand-alone programme on the Selection Trials in early December (watch it online here). Called the ‘Offshore Academy – in Search of Britain’s Best Solo Sailor’, the programme took the viewer behind the scenes at this year’s tough Selection Trials to see the triallists put under extreme pressure both on and off the water as they combated sleep deprivation, that made even the simplest task challenging. Britain’s solo star, Dee Caffari joined the Academy judging panel and also narrated the programme for Channel 4.
The Development Squad will be training this winter in the south of France, training together as a team, as well as working on their own tailor-made programmes. Find out more about the Academy and the plans for 2012.
2012 Geneva Marathon for Unicef open for entry
The Geneva Marathon for Unicef is a fast growing event that saw a record participation in 2011 with nearly 6,000 runners, and the 2012 edition on the 5th and 6th of May will showcase a new finish area at the heart of Geneva in order to attract an even higher participation level. The entry process for the 8th edition opened in November offering a mix of courses (Marathon, Half-Marathon, Women Race, Junior Courses), as the long-term ambition of making the Geneva Marathon for Unicef one of the top 15 marathons in Europe continues on track. In keeping with the past two editions, the Geneva Marathon for Unicef reaffirms its commitment to charity by renewing its partnership with Unicef and pledging 5% of the entry fees to the installation of water pumps in countries that are in urgent need.