The Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP) has hosted this Tuesday the official presentation of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE, "its most emblematic regatta", which celebrates its 41st edition and will take place between July 29 and August 5 .
The competition has been presented to the press, authorities, sponsors and members of the RCNP. Emerico Fuster, president of the Real Club Náutico de Palma; Joaquim Miró, territorial general manager of MAPFRE in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands; and Jaime Martínez, Mayor of Palma have been, accompanied by other authorities and personalities such as Marga Prohens -candidate for the presidency of the Balearic Government-, some of the attendees.
As explained in the official presentation and later collected in a press release, it is expected that there will again be nine classes competing in the bay of Palma for the trophy, as happened in the last edition: Majorica ORC 0 , 1, 2, 3 and 4, ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan 42, Herbalife J70 and the Mallorca Sotheby's Women's Cup female class, which will sail on J80.
The participants will be of 16 different nationalities from three continents –America, Oceania and Europe-. Regarding the competition program, it will dedicate the first two days to the confirmation of inscriptions, registration and measurements, while the regattas will be held from July 31 to August 5.
Likewise, "there will be no shortage of the Copa del Rey MAPFRE social program", in which there will be music and tastings, and in which the traditional Shipowners' Cocktail by MAPFRE will also take place, on Thursday, August 3 at the RCNP, and the final trophy delivery ceremony, on Saturday, August 5, at the Ses Voltes venue, at the foot of the Mallorca Cathedral.
President Emerico Fuster was the first to speak, speaking "given the special circumstances in which we have found ourselves for the last two years", from the perspective of organizer and promoter of the event. "Within a month, our city will become the center of attention for world sailing thanks to the fact that in 1982 the RCNP laid the foundations for the Copa del Rey and, since then, has never stopped working constantly so that the island and the city have a top-level annual event, in line with the commitment we made on the day we were founded 75 years ago," he said.
“We are proud to have given shape and impetus to an event that today is recognized and respected in all corners of the world, and to a brand from which the port of Palma, the city and, in general, all of Mallorcan society benefit. ", has added.
Emerico Fuster also had a few words of thanks for MAPFRE, "our partner and inseparable travel companion". “Thank you for the support and dissemination that you give to our sport. Hopefully we can continue sailing together so that the Copa del Rey MAPFRE continues to be the best regatta in the Mediterranean and a source of pride for the city of Palma and Spanish sailing”, he highlighted.
For his part, Joaquim Miró, MAPFRE's territorial general manager in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, highlighted MAPFRE's work in the archipelago. "Supporting the Copa del Rey is a source of pride because it is a reflection of the work we do in the Balearic Islands and, furthermore, it is a showcase to the world", he declared.
Miró also underlined the excellent and solid relationship they maintain with the RCNP "with whom we work hand in hand to ensure that this competition gains more notoriety every year" and added that they predict that this 41st edition "will be a new success for the competition , which will once again place the Bay of Palma at the world center of sailing”.
The new mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, has finished speaking. He began by thanking the RCNP for the sporting and social work it has been doing all these years, stating that the "town hall will be your travel companion".
"We believe that the city of Palma has to be a sports city in itself and in this respect you are also going to be very important", he began. "A few years ago you promoted the possibility of creating a municipal sailing school in your facilities, we also think that it is important that Palma has a municipal sailing school and we offer you our hand to collaborate together on this project", he continued.
On the other hand, Jaime Martínez has ratified "our commitment and help in everything that is possible, mine personally and that of the consistory, to see how the situation of the RCNP experienced in recent years can be solved."
