Telstra Countrywide supports Airlie Beach's sporting event

11:05 PM Sat 15 Aug 2009 GMT

'Alex St John sends results from the water, thanks to Telstra’s Next G network. Photo supplied by Finish Boat. Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week 2009' Sail-World.com /AUS &copy Click Here to view large photo

Telstra Country Wide North Queensland is providing the Media Centre Communications facilities for the 2009 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week (MMABRW), the largest sporting event on the Airlie Beach calendar, enabling journalists from Australia and overseas to provide updates to sailing enthusiasts from around the world.

More than 20 Australian journalists and race officials are using the Telstra Country Wide provided facilities at the Meridien Marinas Abel Point Marina in Airlie Beach, as well as photographers, radio station reporters and television crews.

Telstra Country Wide North Queensland, District Manager Kerry Hine said he was delighted to support the 2009 Airlie Beach Race Week.

'Using Telstra's World class Next G Network, my team has provided the equipment and expertise to allow race results to be uploaded in real time from race officials who are still on the water ' Kerry Hine said.

'This Centre has really capitalised on the latest technology enabling photographers to dispatch images to publications instantly and other media to file stories in almost real time under tight deadlines, with rapid results coming straight from the water.'

Telstra has become a big supporter of Australian sailing, providing innovative telecommunication solutions to many international events sailed in Australia, including the World Etchells Championship, the A Cat World Championships and the F18 World Championships. Telstra also supports Skandia Geelong Week, now Audi Victoria Week, the largest keelboat regatta in Australia.

MMABRW Media Director, Rob Kothe commented 'Telstra Country Wide provided the same support in 2007 and 2008, but now we have much higher speeds, with 7.2meg Next G wireless broad band systems.

'One of the most important things for sailors in a regatta is to know the day's racing results as quickly as possible.

'We have Wireless and Ethernet systems running in both the Telstra Countrywide Media Centre and in the Race Office as well as on the 7.2meg Next G data transmission of results from the water.

'This year at Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week, the results are being recorded and posted directly to the event website from the finish boat, thanks to Telstra's Next G mobile network.'

As the yachts finish out in Pioneer Bay, the information is recorded by the event's results scorer Alex St John and the race officials. The information is collated and, with the help of a Telstra Next G USB mobile card, sent instantaneously to the official website.

Scorer Alex St John said 'We have been able to get results to the world faster than in previous years. Being able to do results on the water means results are correct and are distributed quickly.'

The consensus amongst the crews is that the speed in which the results have been delivered last year and this year is a vast improvement over previous methods, and that family and friends often know where the yacht has placed well before the skipper.

When running a regatta, communication is vital and the Next G network has markedly improved this aspect for regatta officials. With the sponsorship of Telstra Countrywide, Race Officials have been able to communicate with Next G mobiles.

Regatta Director, Denis Thompson, said, 'Communications for the Media Centre and Race Organisers are a major factor with 100 boats scattered across three race courses. The support of Telstra Country Wide is much appreciated.'

by Brendan Maxwell

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Telstra Countrywide supports Airlie Beach's sporting event

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