Australia’s America’s Cup campaign for the Youth and Puig Women’s regattas in 2024 has today announced its official sailing clothing partner will be Musto and Eyewear Partner will be Bolle, providing technical and specialist performance gear recognised globally as the world’s leading sailing and sporting brands.
The high-quality Musto brand has long been associated in Australia and globally with safety and excellence in ocean racing and competitive sailing and brings a performance edge to outfitting the Australian squad.
Team Australia Challenge is the official entry for the Youth and Puig Women’s regattas in the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024 and the partners will outfit on water teams plus provide shore clothing and product ranges as well as merchandise for the team supporters and a bespoke range for the Team Australia Fan Club.
Musto Australasia Director David Oliver said the level of innovation in sailing gear was accelerating as fast as the high-tech new foiling craft the teams will sail. The America’s Cup new AC40 yacht sails up to 4 times faster than the wind creating extreme conditions for the athletes who will need excellent performance clothing and gear.
“It is not just about wetsuits and basic waterproofs anymore. The innovation needed now has seen us develop real world first products that have to handle an entire new set of conditions. We have entered this market in real strength over the last few years and it is very clear now that just branding differently or making a cool sounding name up is not cutting it anymore. It is so good to be in a position to really add value to such a great campaign as this. Keeping our athletes more comfortable for longer periods and allowing them greater ranges of movement and give them more confidence in more extreme conditions is our goal and we can’t wait to help Australia take on the world,” Oliver said.
Bolle has a specialist reputation for sporting performance eye wear but has also engineered an extensive line in high tech safety glasses and been innovating in on water performance eyewear. Beyond safety it is the engineered accuracy and level of details delivered to an athlete’s vision on water that makes them an exciting partner for the Team Australia Challenge squad.
Paul Schulz, Bolle Sports Australasian Sales Manager commented, “Bolle are absolutely delighted to support Team Australia in their challenge for the Youth and Puig Women’s Americas Cup. It’s just awesome to see an Australian team back in the AC arena and we know everyone involved will be doing their utmost to bring the trophy back to OZ. Bolle will be providing the latest marine glasses and lenses which are game changing. Our high definition and polarised Volt+ lenses will have the team seeing crystal clear and finding every wind shift on the water. The speeds of these yachts are getting insane now and seeing clearly and without distortion is paramount. When two boats are coming together at well over 40+ knots, your vision needs to be perfect and we’re stoked to provide our Volt+ Offshore lenses to help get the job done!”
Both brands pride themselves on their sustainability credentials which is a feature of the 2024 America’s Cup campaign partnering with the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda 2030. To read more on Musto sustainable practices, see link – Sustainability (musto.com)
Musto was created by British Olympian Keith Musto in the 1960’s as he pioneered the concept of sailors as a high-performance athletes rather than gentlemen sailors. The sport has come a long way and Keith has consistently been a voice and trailblazer for women in sailing helping pioneering sailors such as Ellen MacArthur who in 2005 became the fastest solo sailor to sail around the world. Keith was a sailor first and foremost but also a pioneering engineer. He developed the Musto range to solve the problems of sailors’ protection on water to and provide solutions and it wasn’t just about just making sales. Musto has continued to build on this legacy with genuine research and development and a growing focus on sustainability and environmental awareness. Just using recycled fabrics in your kit does not cut it anymore and a genuine respect for our ocean environment is at the forefront of Musto product development.
For more information visit www.teamaustraliachallenge.org
