Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 - Cape Town selected as first port of call

8:11 AM Thu 25 Feb 2010 GMT

'Bruce Parker-Forsyth, Cape Town Stopover CEO, Volvo Ocean Race 2011 - 2012' Volvo Ocean Race &copy

Cape Town's selection as the first port for the 2011-12 race is a result of a lot of hard work on the part of the stopover organisers in meeting the criteria laid down by the port bidding process introduced for this edition of the race.

The formal bidding procedure began in March 2009 when letters requesting expressions of interest were distributed to potential host ports worldwide. The procurement process was managed independently by The Sports Consultancy.

More than 80 cities submitted expressions of interest in the first phase.

The head of the Cape Town stopover organisation, Bruce Parker-Forsyth, said the bar was set quite high. In an interview with Gybe Talkin', the Volvo sailing podcast, he said: 'Going through the port bidding process and understanding what ports needed to supply to be awarded a stopover, we had to work hard for it and try and convince Volvo that we were still in the frame.'

'You can't rest on your laurels. I know people like coming to Cape Town but the race has its objectives and must meet them so we worked hard on our bid.

'We are extremely excited that the race is coming here again. It's the next big event after the World Cup. The Volvo Ocean Race has become part of the fabric of the society. It's seen as a driver for economic, social and community uplift.'

Race CEO Knut Frostad said that in drawing up the route for the 2011-12 race, there were a number of aspects to be taken into account.

'We have tried to balance the sporting side with the commercial side and the public and entertainment side of the event,' he said.

'I have been careful to ensure that we have a good sporting side that is challenging for the sailors and a route they will enjoy racing.

'We only have ports in the route this time that are 100 per cent enthusiastic and are going to put in resources and effort to create a fantastic stopover.'

The European ports of call, including the finish port, will be the next to be announced and the entire route will be revealed by the end of March.

'Over the coming weeks, we will announce the different cities around the world which we will we visit,' Frostad added. 'That will be spread out until the end of the month.

'We promised our stakeholders, the teams and the sailors that we would have the whole route completed by the end of March. So we are on target.'

www.volvooceanrace.com

by Volvo Ocean Race

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Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 - Cape Town selected as first port of call

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