| KEY LARGO, FL. USA-(19-5-2005) Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Swiss watch company Montres Corum Sàrl., will be the title sponsor of the World Championship of the International Melges 24 Class to be sailed off Key Largo, Fla., in December. The announcement was made today by Corum USA, the International Melges 24 Class Association and Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo.
The 2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship at Ocean Reef Club, December 11-17, is expected to attract a field of 80 or more boats from the USA and around the world. The high caliber fleet will include America's Cup sailors and Olympic medalists plus world champions from multiple international classes.
`Our sponsorship of this prestigious and highly competitive sailboat racing class continues Corum's support of teams and venues at the very top levels of the sport of sailboat racing,` said Stacie Orloff, president of Corum USA.
For more than two decades Corum has supported the Admiral's Cup in Britain as an event sponsor and as a team sponsor. In 1991, the Corum-sponsored French team won the Admiral's Cup. Other Corum sailing sponsorships have included entries in world match racing events, 60-foot offshore multihull events and the Tour de France à la Voile. Recent event sponsorships have included the 2004 Corum World 11-Metre Championships in Sydney, Australia, the 2005 Del Rey to Puerto Vallarta Race in California and the 2005 Manches Cup in Britain.
`We were attracted to the 2005 Melges 24 Worlds by the high caliber of competition in this fast-growing international class, to be sailed from the world-class setting and facilities of the prestigious Ocean Reef Club,` said Orloff.
Corum, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, is an independent, family-owned company producing high-quality hand-finished Swiss timepieces since 1955.
The World Championship will be hosted by Ocean Reef Club. Situated on the northern tip of Key Largo, just 50 miles south of Miami, the secluded club-community has hosted presidents, and heads of state, movie stars and sports heroes, diplomats and many of the most successful business people in the United States. It was founded in 1945 as a private fishing club and remains private today, with membership by invitation only.
`Ocean Reef Club is proud of our past association with the Melges 24 regattas and very honored to have been chosen as the host site for the 2005 World Championship,` said Ocean Reef Club president Paul Astbury. `December is a delightful time of year to be in the Florida Keys and we know the Melges competitors will be pleasantly pleased by all comforts and conveniences offered by the Club.`
In the 12 years since it was introduced, the Melges 24 has become the world's leading high performance, one-design sportboat. It offers exciting, demanding, exceptionally competitive sailing and attracts top professional and amateur sailors from the around the globe. Over 600 boats are now sailing and an additional 30 new boats are built and delivered each year.
Today, Melges 24 fleets compete in sailing venues across Europe, North America and Asia. There are fleets in the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Monaco, Sweden, Spain and Japan.
`We set our sights high for the 2005 World Championship,` said Karen Gottwald, IMCA Vice Chairman, U.S. Class president and the event organizer. `Corum's generous sponsorship support, announced today, coupled with the unrivalled facilities of Ocean Reef Club, will guarantee a memorable event.`
The website for the 2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship at Ocean Reef Club is http://www.2005corumm24worlds.com. More information about Corum Swiss timepieces is available at www.corum.ch. The web address for Ocean Reef Club is http://www.vacationsatoceanreef.com.
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