SailGP Media Relations and bringing a niche sport into the mainstream.

Flying catamarans and silent media when spectacular sport meets a lack of interest

‍Imagine boats racing across the water at 100 km/h. They lift off on foils like airplanes. Ten nations in competition. Pure spectacle. And yet hardly anyone knows about it.

Welcome to SailGP, the "Formula 1 of the water." Since early 2025 we have been responsible for the PR strategy and media relations for the racing circuit and the German team. The mission was clear: get out of the sailing niche and into the sports pages of the major newspapers.

The problem? For sports desks, sailing regattas are about as attractive as a chess tournament without the drama. Technically complex, visually hard to grasp, and most journalists do not know their jib from their mainsail.It didn’t matter. Neither did we. And we didn’t have to.

The Strategy and storytelling over sail settings

‍We do not talk about sail settings. We talk about Erik Heil. About pressure, dreams, and that one moment when you make it into the final for the first time. We tell stories instead of race results.

Then we did something no one had done before—digital press conferences. Not from an office, but from the racing boat. Right there on the water. The sailors exactly where they belong. Close, authentic, and unscripted.

Editorial teams that previously thought "Sailing? Not our thing" were suddenly on board. The hurdle was gone. The interest was there.

And then came Geneva

‍The German team wins. For the first time ever. The story is perfect and we just have to tell it. Within one month we secured around 50 media clippings. Süddeutsche Zeitung, Tagesspiegel, NDR, Sports Illustrated.

SailGP is in the mainstream. Mission accomplished.Was it luck? No. Was it just the win? Not that either. It was the combination of a team that delivers and professional media relations that ensures people actually see it. We pitch proactively. We create access. We build the stories that newsrooms actually want.

Learnings and how PR works for niche sports

‍This case shows that even supposedly difficult topics can be placed if the PR strategy is right. If you think outside the box. And if you are willing to do things differently.

Digital press conferences from a racing boat? Sounds crazy. It works. Storytelling instead of stats? Sounds simple. It is the key.

The season continues. The team is sailing with new confidence. We are staying on it. And we are looking forward to the next clippings.

Do you have a niche topic that no one is interested in yet? Laura knows how to change that laura@schroederschoembs.com.