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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
35 From small beginnings,in all but two years,theAssociation has shown a profit.The aim is not to amass a large surplus,but merely to insure that enough funds are available to fully cover the next two years operating expenses should all sponsorship be withdrawn. ThelargestsingleexpenseeverincurredbytheAssociationwastheinvestmentmadein1986-1987inallthegearnecessarytoundertake the swing testing of the Stewart fleet. The total cost was $12,000, a considerable sum in its day. The unfortunate thing about this expenditure was that it was proven to be totally unnecessary. The engineers employed to develop and undertake the testing, on their way to bank their cheques said,that it appeared that the previously employed testing rules were fully adequate!! From 1990 through 2007, Canon New Zealand’s generous long-term sponsorship of Stewart 34 Class racing greatly improved the Association’s financial situation.Canon’s assistance,along with subscriptions and term deposit interest enabled the StewartAssociation to perform very favourably compared to most other one design yacht associations and yacht clubs. At the beginning of 2008,Hyundai pickedupthesponsorshipof theStewartfleet,continuingthemutuallybeneficialrelationshipthattheStewartshaveenjoyedforsolong. To encourage participation, in the annual summer windward/leeward Stewart 34 Championship Series, no entry fees have been charged.To further encourage the yacht owners to keep racing throughout the entire series,an ingenious scheme has been in place for thelasttenyearsorso.Insteadof offeringlargeprizesattheendof theseriestothewinners,itwasdecidedtorewardalltheownerswho regularlyracedwithappearancemoney.Therewardsstartoff smallonracedayone,butincreaseeachweekthereafter.Onthefinalday, those boats that raced on every occasion receive a substantial reward.Those that only turn up occasionally get less. Unlike other race series,wherethoseatthebackof afleetdropoutalongtheway,underthisscheme,thelastraceof theseriesisusuallythebestattended. There are still nice cash prizes for overall results at the end of the series. The Association believes in“sharing the wealth,”so of the six prizes,1st ,2nd and 3rd on both line honours and handicap,no single yacht can win more than one. If there is a situation where a yacht mightwintwoprizes,oneisawardedtothenextyachtdownthepeckingorderthathasnotalreadywonaprize. Inthisscenario,many more owners make it to the podium at the end of season prize giving. 6 - Sponsorship of the Stewart Class Until the mid 1970’s, yachting was largely untouched by sponsorship. As late as 1979, Englishyachtingjournalistswerestillcondemningtheconceptof advertisementsonyachts. Opponents felt that logos emblazoned on a yacht’s sails or topsides not only blemished her aesthetics, but was demeaning to the sport, which was considered a pastime of the wealthy. Othersfeltthatitadverselyaffectedthecompetitionbychangingvariousaspects of racing solely for the benefit of the sponsor,at the expense of pure and fair competition for the sailors. While all these point have merit, in order to elevate yacht racing from an amateur hobby to a professional sport, sponsorship was a necessary evil which, if properly managed, could be of benefit to both sailors and sellers. The innovative and resourceful Stewart 34 Owner’s Association simply saw sponsorship as the only economically viable way to bring international match racing to Auckland waters. In 1979 Citizen Watch New Zealand agreed to sponsor the Stewart Class in its endeavour. This gave birth to the highly successful Citizen Watch Match Racing Series for the Squadron Challenge Cup. Running for eleven years, this event propelled New Zealand and her top sailors into the international yachting limelight, and ultimately to the America’s Cup. Towards the end of the 1980’s, the Stewart Class also began experimenting with the display of large logos on their mainsails. Even then, this was frowned upon by some of the Squadron Flag Officers. Nevertheless sponsorship of yachts had become an irreversible reality. In1988,WayneBoberg,ownerof Phlyer,succeededinsecuringNutraSweet’ssponsorshipof theStewartfleet.Forafewyearssomeof Auckland’sYacht Clubs actually charged extra entry fees to any sponsored boat,but fortunately this practice did not last long. The Collinson Cup Charles Scoones