Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca - an example of success at the 2025 Yacht Racing Forum
by Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía 25 Nov 15:51 GMT
27 March - 5 April 2026
Yacht Racing Forum 2025 © Sebastiaan Zoomers
A renowned annual meeting of the main players in international competitive sailing, the Yacht Racing Forum, included the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels as an example of the organisation of top-level international regattas in its 2025 edition.
Representing the Sofia, Ferran Muniesa participated as a speaker on the panel 'Successful Event Management'.
Since its creation in 2008, the Yacht Racing Forum has been the annual meeting point for the leading brands, events, clubs, federations, journalists and projects in international competitive sailing. An intense cycle of conferences, round tables and meetings that, over two days, reviews the present and future of the sector. In its 15th edition, it brought together nearly 250 delegates from 26 countries in Amsterdam on 20 and 21 November.
Among the extensive programme of events, the opening day featured the panel 'Successful Event Management: Case Studies and Tangible Outcomes', with the participation of the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels. The Sofia was represented by Ferran Muniesa, manager of Club Nàutic Arenal, who participated in the presentation alongside Jeremy Wilton, CEO of the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC); Stratis Andreadis, Race Director at the Yacht Club of Greece (YCG); Alexandra Rickham, Head of Sustainability at World Sailing; and Giorgio Benussi, Secretary General of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS).
Double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson, moderator of the panel and multiple Sofia competitor, presented the Mallorcan regatta as 'probably the most successful Olympic event' and was interested in the ingredients of that success. Ferrán Muniesa explained that: "Listening is very important: to the sailors, the coaches, the MNAs... To gather as much information as possible to improve the experience of the participants. Many countries use our event to make their selections for the Games, and it is important to put all our resources in, listen to criticism and see how we can continue to improve. And it is key to maintain a good connection with your local community: that club members are happy and that local organisations and the people of Mallorca feel identified. Mallorca has become a very good training location since the beginning of March, and in recent years between 850 and 900 boats, around 1,300 sailors from the Olympic community, and around 60 countries have gathered there. These are big numbers."
During the conference, Muniesa focused on the importance of raising the profile of athletes so that they become better known to the public: "As the Olympic year approaches, sailors are under more pressure and the press is showing more interest. What we need to improve is how we share their stories during the four-year cycle. That is why we are creating the Sailing Grand Slam together with four other events, because we feel that we must increase the visibility of sailors, and therefore we want to establish a common strategy to increase the value of athletes."
Julia Castro, Social Media Manager for the Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels, also participated as a speaker at the Yacht Racing Forum. She shared the stage with communication experts on the panel 'Media Review: Who won the Print, TV and Clicks race in 2025, How and Why?'
After the presentation, the representatives of the Sofia had the opportunity to listen to other major players in the world of sailing, such as Sir Russell Coutts (CEO of SailGP), David Graham (CEO of World Sailing) and Peter Rusch (Communications Director of The Ocean Race), discover trends and debate with the other participants, confirming the Yacht Racing Forum's status as the best event for B2B relations in the sector.