Kiel Week 2023: Sustainable top sport with new partners and 20% reduced entry fee

At the same time, the organizers around the Kieler Yacht-Club (KYC) put an exclamation mark against inflation for 4,000 expected participants from near and far and reduce this year’s registration fees for early bookers by up to 20 percent. In addition, the Kiel Week acts this year even more under the claim of sustainability and determines the CO2 footprint of the sailing competitions. On a wave against the social climate change the Kiel Week wants to bring humans in ONE boat. This was confirmed by Head of organization Dirk Ramhorst and the city president of Kiel Hans-Werner Tovar on Monday (January 23) at the Kiel-Treff at the world’s largest water sports exhibition boot in Düsseldorf, where three new partners and sponsors were also presented to more than 150 guests from the worlds of sport, politics and business. The unique sailing event and summer festival will take place from June 17 to 25 on the Kiel Fjord.

 Christian Beek. 

Kiel-Treff at boot Düsseldorf: Sven Christensen (Managind Director Point of Sailing), City President Hans-Werner Tovar, Dirk Ramhorst (Head of Organization Kiel-Week-Regattas), Wolfram N. Diener (Chairman of boot Düsseldorf), Nina Neumann (Marketing and Events AUDI AG), Dr. Daniel Rothoeft (Managing director 

Sebapharma GmbH & Co. KG), Martin Hager (Chied Editor Yacht), Moderator Andreas Kling

Sven Christensen (Geschäftsführer Point of Sailing), Stadtpräsident Hans-Werner Tovar, Dirk Ramhorst (Organisationsleiter Kieler-Woche-Regatten), Wolfram N. Diener (Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung Messe Düsseldorf), Nina Neumann (Marketing und Events AUDI AG), Dr. Daniel Rothoeft (Geschäftsführer Sebapharma GmbH & Co. KG), Martin Hager (Chefredakteur Yacht), Moderator Andreas Kling

"Of course, the enormous price increases in many areas do not leave Kiel Week unscathed," said Dirk Ramhorst, "but we do not want to pass them on one-to-one to our most important asset, the participants. On the contrary. With this year’s reduction of the entry fee, which applies to all competitions, the regatta should remain attractive and affordable for everyone." For example, the Olympic Nacra 17 teams now pay only 240 EUR (instead of 300), while the international Contenders pay 135 EUR (previously 170). According to the motto "coming early ensures the best places", however, the discount is only valid until the end of April and is also intended to facilitate organizational planning.

Ramhorst and his Principal Race Officer Fabian Bach (triangular courses) and Eckart Reinke (sea courses) presented the official Notice of Race for the first time at the Kiel-Treff. They expect more than 1500 boats from about 50 nations from kitefoilers to offshore yachts. These will sail on nine race courses for the Kiel-Week-victory. After the Aalregatta with 100 and more offshore yachts at the start to Eckernförde, this time all ten Olympic disciplines will start in the first part in Schilksee and Stein (Formula Kite). For them it is also about the decisive points at the final event of the Sailing World Cup 2023, which celebrates its climax on Wednesday with the medal races. In addition, eleven international boat classes and the races of the offshore yachts for the Kiel Cup, the Silbernes Band and the Senatspreis are on the program.

With the development of a digital platform (cloud computing) for recording the carbon footprint, the head of organization presented the next step of the sustainability strategy of the Kiel Week to the attentive audience. An ESG module of the platform of the manufacturer ServiceNow for the areas of environment, social and responsible corporate management will be adapted to the needs of Kiel Week with the help of the management consultancy Accenture as partner and sponsor. "The active participants can then record their individual carbon footprint via an app," says Dirk Ramhorst, "which can be linked to local compensation measures in Schleswig-Holstein." In the long term, the initiative is to be extended to the public part of Kiel Week together with the Kiel-Week-Office, he said.

Kiel Week already looks back on a shared tradition with boot (21 to 29 January), where the theme of sustainability is also writ large - the partnership has existed for 30 years, with roots going back to 1972, when the unforgettable trade fair boss Kurt Schoop was the keeper of the minutes of the Olympic sailing competitions in Kiel-Schilksee. "This has long since turned into a friendship, and that makes us very proud," said Wolfram N. Diener as Chairman of the Board of Messe Düsseldorf, "our commitment in Kiel is a clear, lasting commitment to sailing." In Schilksee, the boot Düsseldorf Club remains a popular "chill zone" for all active sailors. And Kiel sailing weather specialist Meeno Schrader is once again forecasting the wind and weather for the individual regatta courses on a daily basis on behalf of boot.

Diener and boot project manager Petros Michelidakis were presented with the Kiel Week 2023 poster by the Kiel delegation at the Kiel booth in Hall 15. Kiel’s city president Hans-Werner Tovar is looking forward to the major event from a new perspective as a visitor - he will hand over the office after the local elections in May. Tovar did not and does not want to shake the fruitful connection between the two state capitals: "For us, the boot is always the start of the Kiel Week season, and the planning is entering the hot phase. We are looking forward to exciting encounters and maritime experiences with a clear course towards inclusion, sustainability and diversity."

Tovar also highlighted the joint efforts of all those involved in overcoming the crises of the past three years. "We urgently need such cohesion in our society and must promote it." The social climate is the most important driver, according to the findings of a 2025 strategy process, and the Kiel Week of the future should be positioned even more strongly as a participatory event with low-threshold offerings "free and outdoors for everyone."

In addition to the premium partners boot and REWE, AUDI AG had already extended its contract as mobility partner by two years before Christmas. "Sport and performance are firmly anchored in our DNA, and the topic of sustainability also connects us with Kiel Week," emphasized Nina Neumann, who is responsible for brand communication and events at Audi. This year, she said, Kiel will once again be purely electric. Guests will also be able to marvel at the brand new Audi Q8 e-tron. Neumann: "Together with Point of Sailing, we will revive the Audi Sailing Arena in Schilksee, which will show, among other things, the live broadcasts of Kiel Week TV on its large LED wall and serve as a stage for the award ceremonies." The arena will also become the heart of the evening live entertainment on the harbor.

PoS (Point of Sailing), the marketing and event agency of the KYC, announced another addition to the sponsor family at the boot: sebamed will support Kiel Week from 2023. The medical skin cleansing and care brand with a pH value of 5.5 from Sebapharma in Bad Salzig (Rheinland-Pfalz), which will also focus on its sun protection products, is already a partner of Deutsche Sporthilfe and is dedicated to promoting young talent. "We are planning a kids camp in Schilksee with various hands-on activities and our own children’s regatta," said Daniel Rothoeft, deputy chairman of the management board, at the Kiel-Treff. "Through the sebamed Youth Sailing Program, children and young people will be introduced to sailing and the sporting development of young people will be promoted."

After Yamaha Motor Europe at the end of 2022, PoS managing director Sven Christensen and his crew now also won KWC for Kiel Week. The globally operating company with headquarters in Unterkulm/Switzerland and a German site in Ludwigsfelde has been producing high-quality bathroom and kitchen faucets for private households as well as public buildings and the medical sector for more than 150 years. Water is the connecting element for Kiel Week, where there will be at least five tapping points in Schilksee where active participants and guests can obtain fresh drinking water at any time. KWC makes it look good with innovative design, materiality and functionality in every form. "This fills a gap that has existed for a long time at Kiel Week," said Christensen, who is also pleased to have the support of two high-performance junior crews from KYC, which will be visible on the regatta courses at Kiel Week.

Last but not least, Kiel Week presented its new media partnership with the trade magazine YACHT from Bielefeld-based Delius Klasing Verlag. Europe’s highest-circulation sailing magazine shares a passion for environmentally friendly water sports with the world’s largest regatta event and also wants to get people excited about it via modern distribution channels and new formats. That includes die-hard fans as well as curious sailors potentially interested in sailing. "And we also reach our clientele in a targeted way via the media partner," says Bielefeld-born Dirk Ramhorst, who is particularly pleased about the alliance. Especially during Kiel Week, YACHT will once again be more visible in Kiel.Sailing.City; "a nice side effect," says the new editor-in-chief Martin Hager, a Kieler through and through.

PART 1 - June 17-21, 2023

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