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January 17, 2025 6 mins

SailGP racing on Auckland's waterfront will likely be faster than ever. 

The event's expected to draw more than 25 thousand to Waitematā Harbour across the weekend.  

An 8,000 seat grandstand has been purpose-built for the event, and a large screen will be up at the Viaduct for those without a ticket. 

Global Communications Director Nat Fortier says they're debuting new high-speed foils. 

She says the last speed record was just under 100 kilometres an hour and they're seeing the boats hit over that. 

D'Arcy catches up with Nat at the media centre on Auckland's waterfront. 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Finally the foiling catamarans have landed. Let's hope they don't
though literally on the water. We want to see them flying,
But they've blanded here and tomoky Makoto. It's taken a while.
They've finally rested the action of the fine folk of
or to take christ ten in tamaky Makoto and we've
joined now live and the media center with a beautiful

(00:35):
view overlooking the Hodaki Gulf, right where the race course
will be for all of the fans. By Nat Fortier,
someone I've dealt with on a numerous occasions over the
last few years. Finally it to meet her in person.
Good Ant, how are you great to have you in here.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Good morning Darcy, thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
She's the global director of communications for this event that
I've got to say gets bigger and badder every time.
The acceleration of the quality and the size of this
event is quite something to behold. I don't think faster
than people would have figured the why it's developed and grown.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, I mean we're rounding out a pretty remarkable period
of growth heading into this twenty twenty five season. I
think you see it here in Auckland. We've got our
largest ever kind of spectator crowd expected, so that would
be we've got twenty five thousand between basically the grand
stands and the on water fleet. But just globally we're
seeing a huge amount, you know, two new teams the city,
We're going our first South American event, some really exciting

(01:31):
partners coming in. So yeah, it's just it's just been
like a real record off season and excited to kick
off even bigger and better.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Ron's being Formula one, being to a number Formula one
events and wandering into the media scenes and looking at
the cookie cat to nature of everything that's been shipped in.
It's not as big as Formula One, but it's got
the skype, it's got the potential. How big could this
event actually get? You believe?

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yeah, we're actually looking at getting a couple of expansion
teams next year, so that would bring us up to
a fourteen team fleet. And as I think you would
have heard, we're trying some exciting ways to you know,
how do we keep the racing short, sharp, compelling as
we grow? You know, do we need to split the fleet.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, h didn't you even practice you split the fleets
off for an idea about how it maney can happen
in the next season.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah, totally, So we split the split up. We split
this fleet six and five event. Usually it would be
you know, six and six, but we've obviously missed out
on boat twelve. So that's something we'll keep trying throughout
the season, see how it fits in our broadcast window
and go from there.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
And broadcasting that's something that's well developed too. It seems
like your revowere across social media a regular television set.
It doesn't matter where you go, you can't avoid and
it's plainly part of your role in communications, a huge
fact to actually get the eyeballs on the event.

Speaker 3 (02:44):
Totally. Yeah, so we've got I think in season four
we had about two hundred million dedicated broadcast viewers across
the season, So it's something that we're just seeing record
growth in, especially in the US. We had one of
our largest television audience for a sailing event and I
think about thirty years there partnering with CBS Sports, So
it's something that we're always working on. We're also all

(03:06):
is kind of trying to refine that broadcast product to
be more fan friendly. I think you'll see innovations where
you know, we've used AI and enabled cameras to show
how the athletes are moving across the boat with their
names on the back. So we're constantly trying to break
down what we know is a complex, confusing sport and
just make it so that anyone can pick it up
and understand more or less what's going on.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, this is something that sailing has really taken leaps
and bounds in of recent times. It'll started off the
America's Cup when suddenly you could see what was happening.
You had your boundaries that were cg put around the
outside and people did understand that. And for the lay
person that is key to getting eyeballs on the sport
because it is difficult to understand when you're watching from
the water what's going on out.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
There totally, and that's always what our team is working on.
Our broadcast is produced entirely remotely. We've got a studio
in London and our tech team develops kind of all
those graphics in house. We've actually got some exciting projects
in the work. I can't talk about who they are
by name, but other sports coming to us for for
help with those broadcast products because it is so compelling and.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Clear today or the next to two days. The amount
of people here huge, that's that grandstands ridiculous. It's six
stories highs eight thousand bodies on it. That's quite a
piece of work. You can see it where you go
around Auckland.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
It's massive. It's really cool. I went up there and
watched a few of the practice races the other day
and I think that is exactly where you're going to
want to be to see the action this weekend.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well, I think the media scene is a pretty good view.
You're right, that's another way to go.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
We'll look after you.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
I'm going to try and smuggle my daughter and now
I'm not. I'm not going to do that. But what
else are you looking forward to over this two days?
As far as holding the event in Auckland, has there
been anything odd or tricky about? I know getting it
here was very difficult. Christ Jitch had a two in
a row. But now it's settled. What else have you
had to cover off? What else have you encountered?

Speaker 3 (04:57):
No, we've actually had a really really lead into this event.
I was just saying to my colleagues, you know in
London and New York who work remotely, it just feels
really calm, really well organ and that's a credit to
the local team, but all the local stakeholders. I think
you look around in Auckland is really it's built for stadiums,
for SALESGP in that stadium style close to shore, inner

(05:17):
city racing. You've got a beautiful harbor city in the backdrop.
So it's been a great venue for us. It's a
really tight venue, it's a tight race track. But for
the fans arguably that's an awesome thing. For the athletes,
it's an awesome thing. I guess for our site. As organizers,
we're always thinking about damage, but mostly we're excited for
how cool the racing will be.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
It easily gets up with these new t fools. They
may very well be damage and we'll be front road
to watch it doesn't happen. But you know, people all
have a good accent. Natalie fourtyeight, great to finally meet
you in person. Look after yourself, Enjoy the next couple
of days and we look forward to seeing the whole
shooting match back over here again in the not too

(05:58):
distant future. Natalie, thanks for your time. This is Newstalk
BE on the All Sports breakfas Global Director of Communication,
Natalieourtie has just joined us, putting down her cans, wandering
off with a cup of coffee and that's what I'm
going to be doing it next for coming up shortly,
we go to a man by the name of Matt.
It's mister Matt Heath. He's talking the Hot Spring Spars

(06:19):
T twenty christ Church Black clash up and running with
a couple of superstars involved. We'll talk about that and
everything else we need to around the Black Clash up
next here on the All Sport Breakfast on News Talk
ZB coming to you live from one you'd point in
Pommicky Makodo.

Speaker 1 (06:36):
For more from the Your Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave.
Listen live to News Talk said BE on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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