Press Release 1st September 2025

BILLA provided a tailwind at the Austrian Youth Sailing Championships

BILLA is actively engaged in promoting youth in local sports, strengthening the visibility of young talents. As the main sponsor of the youth segment of the Austrian Sailing Association, the food retailer was also present at the Austrian Youth Championships (ÖJM 25) held from August 25 to 29 at Achensee in Tyrol.

Sailboats with white sails and red markings compete in a regatta on a lake, with a forested shoreline in the background.

BILLA provided a tailwind at the Austrian Youth Sailing Championships at Achensee in Tyrol. / Copyright: © Michael Rubendunst, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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At a glance

The Austrian Youth Championships (ÖJM 25) took place from August 25 to 29 at Achensee in Tyrol
As the main sponsor of the Austrian Sailing Association (OeSV), BILLA supports over 500 young talents and provides an additional coach
The BILLA logo adorned the sailboats at the ÖJM 25 and the jerseys (pinnies) throughout the season

The championships have taken place on the last weekend in August since 1989 and have become an annual highlight for young sailors. BILLA’s logo decorated the sailboats and the jerseys of the 170 participants, and gym bags filled with goodies were provided on-site.

Eric Scharnitz, BILLA Sales Director: “By being part of the Austrian Youth Championships in Sailing, we are making an important statement for local sailing. Our engagement in sport also includes soccer and handball, as well as American football. A special highlight is our initiative ‘I live for my club!’ which benefits amateur sports clubs. With our diverse measures, we want to support Austrian sports comprehensively and provide real added value.”

OeSV President Dieter Schneider: “We have received numerous positive feedbacks from the community regarding our strong partnership with BILLA. We are very pleased that the close collaboration is bringing attention to the sport of sailing and our talents. Overall, we are seeing an increase in membership, particularly among competitive young sailors. We are confident that the cooperation with BILLA has contributed to this, and we are even prouder that the ÖJM 25 was so successful.”

The partnership with BILLA led to the best results for young sailors in 15 years

“As a mountainous and inland country, Austria has a shorter sailing season and fewer training opportunities. For example, in the globally sailed youth class ‘Optimist,’ elite athletes from around 65 nations compete at major events. This year, the best team results in the last 15 years were achieved. We are proud and grateful for the fantastic support from BILLA,” said Stefan Scharnagl, Head of Youth at OeSV. The initiative for enhanced support of Austrian youth sailing by BILLA kicked off during the largest sailing training event at Easter. More than 130 kids from the Optimist class and another 20 from the Zoom8 class were coached in Slovenia by highly qualified coaches. The additional coach provided through BILLA’s sponsorship accompanied the EM and WM teams during two preparation training sessions, including training regattas, and at their respective events.