The Australian International Optimist Dinghy Association (AIODA) has announced that sailing’s premier clothing brand, Musto, renowned for its high-performance sailing kit, will be the principal partner for the Optimist class in Australia, for the next three years.
This partnership with AIODA sees Musto becomes the naming rights sponsor of the next three iterations of the major Australian Optimist event, beginning with the 2020 MUSTO Optimist Australian and Open Championships at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria from 2-9 January next year.
Musto is renowned for being the number one sailing brand around the world and has a strong profile as the apparel partner of several global sailing events, including Cowes Week in the United Kingdom and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race here in Australia.
Musto Australasia’s Chief Executive Officer, David Oliver, said while the brand has a proud reputation with global keelboat events, it also has a fierce commitment to supporting junior, youth and grass roots sailing, where the future of the sport is blooded.
“The future of our sport is only able to get stronger through the support of junior and youth sailors,” Oliver said. “Musto has a proud commitment to that mission and we are excited to be partnering with the Optimist class in Australia for the next three years.”
“The 2020 Musto Optimist Australian and Open Championships will provide a fantastic platform for us to showcase our dinghy range to the next generation of sailors, while also giving something back to youth sailing. We are fortunate to be partnering with this great class in what is a really promising time for junior sailing in Australia.”
AIODA President David Williams welcomed the announcement of the partnership with Musto, labelling the partnership “a great outcome” for the class.
“Musto’s reputation in the sailing industry is well-known, and we are excited to be stepping into a three-year deal with them that secures the future of our major event going forward,” Williams said. “It has been a pleasure working with David Oliver and the Musto team to come to a deal that has the best interest of our sailors at heart and we are excited at where this partnership will lead.”
ABOUT MUSTO
Keith Musto, an Olympic sailing silver medallist, founded the brand with the desire to “engineer for oceans”. Through cutting-edge designs, best-in-class fabric technologies and stringent testing, this philosophy resulted in performance-enhancing pieces, for professionals and amateurs alike.
For more than 50 years, Musto has pushed the boundaries of designing and manufacturing high-performance sailing clothing for use in some of the most extreme conditions on earth. The brand remains fiercely true to its origins in 1964, when Keith Musto decided to make his own high performance clothing, as no other company in the world was prepared to work with him.
Musto was worn by 70% of teams in the 2014-15 Volvo Ocean Race, chosen by the leading sailors in the 2016-17 Vendee Globe and selected by Groupama Team France for the America’s Cup 2017.
Granted two Royal Warrants, Musto is sold in over 40 countries, with a hard-earned reputation for innovation, testing, high performance and style. Over the years it has taken its learnings in element protection from high performance inshore and offshore sailing into equestrian, country and shooting.
