aql sponsors 50th Anniversary Squib National Championship
aql will sponsor the 50th Anniversary Squib National Championship at Cowes Week this year, continuing company founder and CEO Prof. Adam Beaumont’s long-time support for UK sailing.
A passionate sailor – and Cowes regular since 1990 – Beaumont’s support is focused on community building and the grassroots; on opening up the sport to as many people, including children and the disabled, as possible. aql’s sponsorship means every competitor will receive a free spinnaker – creating an affordable route into a large fleet for anyone interested in small keelboat sailing.
“The Squib class are just so pleased to be sponsored in their 50th year National Championships by aql. We cannot believe our luck or the generosity of Professor Adam Beaumont in agreeing to pay for free spinnakers for all entrants,” said Nigel Grogan, Chairman of the National Squib Owners Association and CEO of Hydesails. “As a consequence, it looks as though we will be the biggest class in Lendy Cowes Week this year with entries already at 79 Squibs. The spinnakers will all sport the aql logo and, we believe, will make for some sensational photos.”
aql is also the official communications sponsor for Cowes Week, providing fibre connectivity, mobile messaging, secure data connectivity and even access to its atomic clock – adding a layer of high-tech wizardry to the largest and oldest regatta of its kind, and helping the event reach a wider cross section of the sailing community.
As well as competing at Cowes, Beaumont, several customers and some of the aql team previously sailed in the Isle of Wight’s 50-mile Round the Island race, with gold medallist blind sailor Lucy Hodges MBE at the helm. Funds raised from the race were donated to the Blind Sailing charity run by Hodges – providing sailing for blind and partially sighted people of all ages.
Cowes Week runs from Saturday 4th to Saturday 11th August 2018. It has been a major part of the sporting summer calendar since 1826 and is one of the UK’s longest running and most successful sporting events.
For more information, visit www.squibs.co.uk and www.lendycowesweek.co.uk.
