The annual Fastnet race sees thousands of competitors from many nations sailing a gruelling 695-mile course from Cowes, Isle of Wight, to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France via the Fastnet Rock of the southern coast of Ireland. As a result, the race draws interest from a worldwide community of sailors. Historically, the challenge for many following the race is the language barrier.
This year, however, the 100th Rolex Fastnet Race will benefit from technology provided by Interprefy, an AI speech translation vendor. During the event, Interprefy will provide AI-powered translation, closed captions in various languages. It will also support the masterclasses, a set of daily Fastnet talks/podcasts which start on July 25th and continue through August 1st.
For the first time, audiences will be able to read and listen in their native tongue. Where sailors are unable to speak in either French or English, the two supported languages of the race, they will be able to speak naturally, with Interprefy delivering accurate translations for whoever is listening.
The announcement follows the use of Interprefy solutions at a UTS tennis tournament in Nîmes earlier this year and the Europe-Asia Economic Summit (EAES) 2025 in Davos. At the tennis tournament Interprefy delivered translated content to over 12,000 people worldwide.
Johann Brégand, Global Head, Institutions at Interprefy, said, “Events like the Rolex Fastnet Race are steeped in tradition, and this year, real-time fan engagement is at the helm.
“We’re seeing an increasing demand for our multilingual services at major sporting events as organisers look for improved ways to engage their fan base. Bringing our Remote Simultaneous Interpretation and AI speech translation services to this iconic race will ensure fans from all linguistic backgrounds can fully participate and celebrate together.”
Interprefy brings a new age of Globalisation to the Fastnet Race
Interprefy will deliver several services that audiences can benefit from. They will include:
- Two-way remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) between English and French
- Live AI speech translation, with support for additional languages
- Live closed captions and subtitles in multiple formats
- Captions will also be displayed on the giant screen for inclusivity and accessibility
- Access will be provided via the Interprefy mobile app
The Interprefy technology will help the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) celebrate its 100th annual race, while ushering in a new age of accessibility for international sporting events.
Brégand concluded, “As the intersection of sport, technology and international culture continues to grow, organisers of large-scale sporting events are embracing language technology to expand their reach and accessibility.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Interprefy is knocking off prestigious international sporting events one by one. It will be interesting to see whether it can partner with a media company to deliver its translation services across syndicated sporting content on a larger scale.
The Fastnet Race is globally known and will probably have a wider audience than the tennis event. It will be interesting to see what metrics emerge once the event is complete and whether other sporting series want to take advantage of the AI-powered technology to reach a wider audience.
