Oman Sail and Renaissance celebrate landmark partnership

Sports Wednesday 09/November/2016 17:07 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman Sail and Renaissance celebrate landmark partnership

Muscat: The landmark partnership between Oman Sail and Renaissance, spanning eight fruitful years was marked in a special event held at the Ministry of Sports Affairs on Wednesday.
As one of Oman Sail’s oldest partners, the Omani multinational company has provided a consistent and solid level of support since the association was first formed in 2009, making possible a raft of initiatives that have underpinned Oman Sail’s success as an innovative sporting organisation.
At the commemoration event, Oman Sail launched a special video clip titled: “A Letter to the Youth”, featuring an inspiring journey of one of the most accomplished Omani sailors, Fahad Al Hasni.
The film tells Fahad’s story since his first encounters with the sea as a fisherman to becoming a top performing athlete, sailing aboard high class multihulls such as the Musandam Oman Sail MOD70. After years of training and competition, he became a role model for young generations. Al Hasni is now a world-record holder and was recently voted Seahorse Sailor of the Month. He was also the skipper of the All-Omani Team Renaissance in EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2016.
The launch of the video was well-received by attendees who included His Highness Sayyid Tariq bin Shabib Al Said, board member of Renaissance, Fahad Al Raisi, Director-General of Sponsorship and Development at the Ministry of Sports Affairs, Stephen Thomas, CEO of Renaissance, David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail, and children from the Community Sailing Programme.
On the occasion, Oman SailCEO David Graham commented: “Our partnership with Renaissance is from Oman Sail’s inception and we thank them for their support which has given many of our initiatives a firm foundation and huge impetus. Our partnership is alive, dynamic and moves with the times. There is a common thread across the Renaissance programmes: The Youth. Right from the start they highlighted this as an area that they would like to focus on and we have worked closely with them to use sailing as a platform to create a sports culture that will benefit the next generation of Omanis.”
Stephen Thomas, Renaissance CEO added: “We are very proud of our partnership with Oman Sail. Sailing has become one of the leading activities in Oman. Oman Sail is creating a host of inspirational role models for the youth. This encourages and unleashes so much exciting potential. We value our long-term partnership with Oman Sail, now and for the future.”
Renaissance was one of the founding members of several Oman Sail programmes and tasted success as backers of Oman Sail’s entry into the international racing circuit, which saw their Extreme 40 Renaissance finish third in the 2009 ishares Cup.
The company was an enthusiastic sponsor of Mohsin Al Busaidi when he became the first ever Arab to sail non-stop around the world also in 2009 and have given Oman Sail’s sailing schools, summer camps and grassroots sailing initiatives, including the outstanding ‘Try Sailing’ programme, their unswerving support throughout their eight year relationship.
In 2011, Renaissance backed a Farr 30 in EFG Sailing Arabia – the Tour and returned two years later. Team Renaissance has been a regular fixture in the annual event ever since, and the company has taken pride in the ethos of the campaign, which is to encourage and promote talented young Omani sailors. The company’s annual commitment to sailing in Oman also extended to supporting the Sailor of the Year Awards in 2013 and 2014 and since 2013, they have been a title-sponsor for the hugely popular Inter-Schools Regatta, which has become one of the most hotly contested events in Omani youth sport.