Garmin Summer Series launched

Chrissy Winchcombe, Garmin and Brenda Hoult, SailRacer © SailRacer

New 'High Definition' series of mixed-fleet dinghy racing events for Summer 2014

Garmin, in conjunction with SailRacer, the sailing data and events specialists, are delighted to announce the launch of the Garmin Summer Series. Five venues, spread around the UK, are signed up for the 2014 Series which runs from May to the end of August.

All of the events will feature media coverage with SailRacer's GPS tracking services, now with the ability to integrate onboard footage using the rugged new Garmin VIRB Elite action camera. Each venue will be presenting a Garmin VIRB Elite to the overall winner of their event - or to a lower placed team at their discretion if the first placed has already won a VIRB at a previous event.

The Garmin VIRB Elite features a 1.4 inch colour display as a viewfinder for the unit, making this camera exceptionally easy to use to create high quality, high definition (1080p HD) video and photographs. This top of the range model also includes high sensitivity GPS, accelerometer, altimeter and WiFi, enabling connectivity to other products, such as Garmin's GPS and heart rate monitors.

Following the announcement at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show earlier this month, Chrissy Winchcombe, who looks after marketing for Garmin's Marine & Wellness sectors, commented "This is a great opportunity for Garmin to respond to the increasing technical input sought by sailors, at the same time supporting this new Series which promises to bring a strong social aspect to the sailing circuit." Many sailors are already familiar with Garmin's products in activities such as cycling and running, in which they participate alongside their sailing but Chrissy, herself a watersports enthusiast, is keen to bring this technology to the water "We look forward to working with established events such as the Lord Birkett and developing the new events throughout this summer and successive years."

Class representatives are welcome to contact the organisers to include one, or all of the events within their own summer schedule. SailRacer can extract results from overall series results and will produce individual class leader boards for followers throughout the season.

Dates and venues for the Garmin Summer Series 2014 events, also supported by Gul and Trident, are:

• Carsington Summer Trophy - Sunday 11 May
• Datchet Summer Flyer - 31 May & 1 June
• Oxford Summertime Blue - Saturday 21 June
• The Lord Birkett Memorial Trophy - 5 & 6 July
• GJW Direct SailFest 14, Calshot - 23 to 25 August