TAG Heuer - Partners with young Swiss sailors
Swiss watchmaking legend TAG Heuer, the Official Partner of ORACLE TEAM USA, the 34th America's Cup defender at this year's 34th America's Cup, will join the young Swiss sailors of TEAM TILT in their bid to win the newest addition to the world's most prestigious sailing season: the Red Bull Youth America's Cup.
The Red Bull Youth America's Cup is scheduled for August/September 2013, in San Francisco, during the peak moment of the America's Cup racing season. The final will be held a week before the Cup itself. Ten national teams of six sailors, aged 19 to 24, will participate in the race, on the same platform of wing-sailed AC45 catamarans used throughout 2011 and 2012 in the America's Cup World Series events.
"It's the perfect match--a Swiss brand and a Swiss team, working side by side at the highest level of competitive sailing," said TAG Heuer President and CEO Jean-Christophe Babin. "We are very proud and excited to be partnered with this next generation of racing talent. TAG Heuer and Team Tilt are driven by the same values: high-tech, precision, tradition and 100% passion for competition. We hope that this exciting experience will stimulate future Swiss projects. We would be very proud, for example, to be associated with a Swiss bid for the 35th America's Cup."
Led by project leader Alex Schneiter and skipper Lucien Cujean, TEAM TILT is already actively training onboard Decision 35 monotype catamarans on Lake Geneva. They will be competing on the lake, starting in May 2013.
"This is a huge boost," said Schneiter. "TAG Heuer has been intensely involved in America's Cup since the 1960s, and they've been creating sailing and yachting timepieces since the 1930s. Having them onboard is an honor, and it's going to seriously improve Switzerland's chances of bringing home the Cup."
TAG Heuer will provide technical support during TEAM TILT's America's Youth Cup bid, along with special TAG Heuer eyewear and chronographs, including the brand's new AQUARACER 500M Calibre 72. The watch, a regatta countdown version of the iconic Aquaracer 500M ('72' refers to the foot-length of the America's Cup catamarans) celebrates two benchmarks in TAG Heuer's on-going commitment to professional aquatic sports: the Aquaracer's three decades at the luxury helm of sailing excellence, and the brand's Official Partnership with ORACLE TEAM USA in the 34th America's Cup.