Barcelona, 13 December 2023.
CaixaBank unveiled a new sponsorship agreement that will bind the financial institution to Sail Team BCN, the only Spanish team that will take part in the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup, at its corporate headquarters in Barcelona today. The boat will represent Spain in both competitions: the female America’s Cup, which will be held for the first time in the history of the competition, and the youth America’s Cup, which will see people under 25 competing.
The Youth America’s Cup will be held from 26 September to 2 October and the female America’s Cup from 10 to 16 October, on the same regatta course as the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup.
During the presentation ceremony, CaixaBank’s Chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, explained why the bank has decided to support the Spanish team: “The America’s Cup sailing competition will be the biggest sporting event held in Barcelona since the 1992 Olympic Games and we are genuinely proud to host such a major event in our city, which will once again make Barcelona the world capital of sport for weeks at a time”.
Goirigolzarri added, “At CaixaBank, we share important traits with Sail Team BCN such as teamwork, a very strong capacity to adapt to changes in our environment and, lastly, a firm commitment to innovation and technological development”.
CaixaBank’s Chairman has upheld the importance of “supporting a team of young sportsmen who will represent our country”. Goirigolzarri also stated that “we are particularly proud to support the Spanish women’s team, which, for the first time in the history of the America’s Cup, will compete in their own competition, raising this category to the highest level”.
Tamara Echegoyen, a sailor with Sail Team BCN, highlighted that for the first time in the history of the America’s Cup there will be a women’s event in the competition schedule: “The Puig Women’s America’s Cup is an amazing opportunity to continue opening the floodgates to the professional world for female sailors, who are working hard to reach the required level for events of this magnitude”. At the same time, Echegoyen stated that “sailing in Spain represents a talent factory in all its disciplines and ages, proof of which are the outstanding results achieved every year in top level international competitions. For this reason, I think it is a unique opportunity to have a women’s team and a youth team in one of the biggest competitions in our sport and to be able to work to develop their full potential”.
The sailor did not want to miss the opportunity to express her appreciation of the new agreement presented in Barcelona. “The synergy between a team and its sponsor is undeniable if we want to be successful; their help is crucial to achieve the goals we have set ourselves. My most sincere thanks to CaixaBank for their support for the project and for highlighting the importance of the values of sport, of which all the sailors are ambassadors”, declared the team’s crew member. Tamara Echegoyen wrapped up by saying that “personally, there is no greater satisfaction than being part of a national team, preparing for an event of this scope in Barcelona and having the chance to be able to compete at home. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity”.
Guillermo Altadill, Team Principal of Sail Team BCN, also added that “since Barcelona was nominated as the host city for the 37th America’s Cup, we have been working to ensure that the women’s and youth team can take part in this edition of the Youth & Puig Women’s America’s Cup with every guarantee of success”.
Altadill went on to say that “the talent of our sailors is unquestionable, and this is proven by their track record, but to be successful in a sport as technology driven as this one, you have to have that talent and also the necessary resources to enable our sailors to be fighting to win. Here, CaixaBank gives us this fundamental help. This bank, Barcelona and major sporting events have always been together sharing the values of sport, and it could not be any other way for this important competition”.
At the same time, the Team Principal gave his personal assessment of the competition: “As a Barcelona native, I am proud that my city is hosting the 37th America’s Cup. I was at the Olympic Games in Barcelona ‘92 and we were all buzzing with our city, showing the world that it is an example of sound organizational abilities, seriousness and commitment. Now we have the chance to do it again at an event of the importance of the America’s Cup”.
Lastly, Guillermo Altadill closed his speech by highlighting the women’s participation for the first time in the competition’s history: “After 172 years of America’s Cup history and thanks to CaixaBank, the Spanish women’s team will take part for the first time in a competition that to date has not featured this discipline. As is always the case in this sport for which Spain is a leading force, we will not disappoint”.
Sail Team BCN, the Barcelona-based local team
Guillermo Altadill, a renowned yachtsman, was a key player in Barcelona’s bid to host the 2024 America’s Cup. Once the venue was announced, Grant Dalton, the competition’s CEO, offered the Catalan sailor the opportunity to create a Spanish team for the Youth & Puig Women America’s Cup. From that date on, Guillermo Altadill and Steward Hosford, an expert international project manager, started to design the Sail Team BCN project, a team based locally in Barcelona, specifically in the Port de Sitges.
Sail Team BCN has received approval from the America’s Cup Event (ACE) and Emirates Team New Zealand to be Spain’s challenger for the event in 2024. Sail Team BCN was created under the banner of the Real Club Náutico de Barcelona, with the goal of achieving the best junior and women’s team possible to represent Spain during the competition to be held in 2024. Sail Team BCN will compete in two categories, with two different teams: an all-female team comprising a maximum of eight women and a youth team comprising a maximum of eight young sailors aged between 18 and 25 years old.
The selection process has been open to any Spanish athlete, taking into account their sporting background and their knowledge of foiling. The shortlist for the youth and women’s teams is expected to be announced at the end of January. In the medium and long term, the goal of Sail Team BCN is to build a platform of talent that will enable them to compete in all the categories of future America’s Cup.
As official sponsor of Sail Team BCN, the bank will be present in the image on the sail and hull of the boat, the team’s base and all the crew’s clothing. CaixaBank will also have rights connected to the official communication channels and the sporting facilities, along with the possibility of jointly developing, activating and coordinating innovative actions geared towards encouraging public participation.
