Airbus partner with America’s Cup World Series Wavemakers volunteer programme
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth have secured one of the city’s largest private sector employers as sponsor for the Wavemakers volunteer programme.
The partnership also marks the opening of the volunteer programme, which will see hundreds of applicants signed up to help at the America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth this coming July.
The team organising the Portsmouth event are looking to secure around 250 volunteers. Mike Healy, Portsmouth Site Director from Airbus, and event Director Leslie Greenhalgh, accompanied 17 Wavemakers at Southsea Castle to officially mark the opening of the 2016 application process.
Mike said: “Our Portsmouth base has been key in our development over 60 years in becoming the world’s second-largest space company. We are therefore proud to sponsor the Wavemakers volunteer programme at the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series 2016. We are keen to support our local community, demonstrate our commitment to the area, and connect our people and highly-innovative technology to this exceptional event.”
Last year, close to a quarter-of-a-million people visited Portsmouth to watch the racing action unfold, with British heroes Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing winning on home waters.
The Wavemakers volunteers were integral to the success of the event, helping to make the spectator experience fun, engaging, and enjoyable. As well as being the face of the event, Wavemakers are recruited as local ambassadors, helping to inspire visitors to the city and educate about the America’s Cup.
Leslie Greenhalgh, Event Director, said: “The Wavemaker volunteers were a huge success story from last year’s event. Their unfailing cheerfulness and enthusiasm gave the event real character. This dedicated team of trained volunteers contributed hugely to our ability to stage this spectacular event. We are delighted to have Portsmouth-based company Airbus on board helping us support over 250 Wavemaker volunteers, before and during the event.”
To prepare for the event, volunteer training days will be organised and presented pre-event by HTP Training, the official customer services training provider to the event in Portsmouth.