Organisers of the Oki European Challenge 2005 have announced that UK-Euro Group PLC has become the first commercial yacht partner to join the event.

Race Director, Michael Kay said; “We are thrilled to have UK-Euro Group PLC on board. They are the first of a community of European businesses that will benefit from the business profiling and networking opportunities offered by our event. The environmentally friendly nature of their business fits the sport of sailing perfectly.”

Deane Thomas, Managing Director of UK Euro commented; “We are pleased to be able to support the OKI European Challenge for two main reasons. Firstly, the theme of this challenge is Man in Harmony with the Elements, which mirrors the way we have harnessed natural processes to create our world beating patented technology for air pollution control. Secondly, the OKI European Challenge will allow us to showcase our system at several venues across Europe and allow us to get our clean air, environmentally kind message across in regions desperately requiring pollution solutions.”

The 12-leg Oki European Challenge starts in Poland in June 2005, ending 16 weeks later in Monaco. Crewmembers need no previous sailing experience and can be complete beginners, with most participants paying for their place through sponsorship or private funding. All participants, regardless of experience, will be fully trained to compete in the event.

For more details of the event log onto www.okieurochallenge.com