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Formula One racing on water
By Zhang Yi |
April 12, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
QINGDAO will host grand prix sailing event after the 2008 Olympic Games and the Volvo Ocean Race.
From tomorrow through Sunday, the Double Star Cup Extreme Sailing Series of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) will be held in this coastal city of Shandong Province. It is the first time that the sailing event will be held in China.
Launched in 2007, the Extreme Sailing Series is one of the top four events of the ISAF.
It has become a highlight of the sailing calendar, steadily growing and attracting some of the biggest names in the sport.
Forty-four professional sailors will form 11, four-man teams to compete in the five-day event. The players come from 13 countries including Austria, France, Italy, New Zealand, Oman, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Twenty-nine of the sailors have competed in Olympic sailing events.
A competition will be held to select 55 locals to join the teams, each as a "fifth man" during the five days of racing.
Chinese sailor William Wu will join Team Extreme led by Olympic multi-hull sailor Roland Gaebler from Germany; the other two members are Bruno Dubois from Canada and Sebbe Godefroid from Belgium.
The objective is to have a sailor from the country of each host venue to take the fourth crew spot to showcase their best national or local sailing talent.
Wu was part of the America's Cup China Team and joined the first Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Regatta in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2009.
Qingdao is China's fourth-largest manufacturing port and known as the "City of Sailing" since staging the sailing program of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing; it was also a stopover port for both the Volvo Ocean Race and the Clipper Race.
Having kilometers of golden sandy beaches and with steady winds, Qingdao is a perfect racing location.
The city is China's premier sailing destination with world-class facilities at its Olympic Sailing Center, where these games will begin.
"Through introducing high-end, international standard sailing events to the city, we'd like to reinforce Qingdao's image as the 'sailing capital of China'," says Lin Zhiwei, president of Qingdao Sports Association and deputy executive secretary general of the local organizing committee.
Tomorrow and Thursday, the 11-boat Extreme 40 fleet will start its open-water race outside Fushan Bay, where the Extreme Sailing Series Race Village is located.
The village will be open to the public on Friday and Sunday when the fleet will race inside the bay, right in front of the spectators. Lin describes the games this time as "F1 racing on the water."
"We also hope to interest the younger generation in sailing," she says. "Children will have a chance to experience the exciting games and meet the crew."
According to her, every morning from 9:50am to 11am, from tomorrow through Sunday, international sailing stars will join local students, give talks and demonstrate skills.
The Olympic Sailing Center will be festive during the race. Cultural and entertainment activities will be held. The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow night at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The Extreme Sailing Series was in Muscat in Oman before it stopping at Qingdao.
Besides Qingdao, it will also visit Istanbul in Turkey, Boston in the United States, Cowes in Britain, Trapani in Italy, Nice in France, Almeria in Spain and Singapore.
From tomorrow through Sunday, the Double Star Cup Extreme Sailing Series of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) will be held in this coastal city of Shandong Province. It is the first time that the sailing event will be held in China.
Launched in 2007, the Extreme Sailing Series is one of the top four events of the ISAF.
It has become a highlight of the sailing calendar, steadily growing and attracting some of the biggest names in the sport.
Forty-four professional sailors will form 11, four-man teams to compete in the five-day event. The players come from 13 countries including Austria, France, Italy, New Zealand, Oman, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Twenty-nine of the sailors have competed in Olympic sailing events.
A competition will be held to select 55 locals to join the teams, each as a "fifth man" during the five days of racing.
Chinese sailor William Wu will join Team Extreme led by Olympic multi-hull sailor Roland Gaebler from Germany; the other two members are Bruno Dubois from Canada and Sebbe Godefroid from Belgium.
The objective is to have a sailor from the country of each host venue to take the fourth crew spot to showcase their best national or local sailing talent.
Wu was part of the America's Cup China Team and joined the first Louis Vuitton Pacific Series Regatta in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2009.
Qingdao is China's fourth-largest manufacturing port and known as the "City of Sailing" since staging the sailing program of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing; it was also a stopover port for both the Volvo Ocean Race and the Clipper Race.
Having kilometers of golden sandy beaches and with steady winds, Qingdao is a perfect racing location.
The city is China's premier sailing destination with world-class facilities at its Olympic Sailing Center, where these games will begin.
"Through introducing high-end, international standard sailing events to the city, we'd like to reinforce Qingdao's image as the 'sailing capital of China'," says Lin Zhiwei, president of Qingdao Sports Association and deputy executive secretary general of the local organizing committee.
Tomorrow and Thursday, the 11-boat Extreme 40 fleet will start its open-water race outside Fushan Bay, where the Extreme Sailing Series Race Village is located.
The village will be open to the public on Friday and Sunday when the fleet will race inside the bay, right in front of the spectators. Lin describes the games this time as "F1 racing on the water."
"We also hope to interest the younger generation in sailing," she says. "Children will have a chance to experience the exciting games and meet the crew."
According to her, every morning from 9:50am to 11am, from tomorrow through Sunday, international sailing stars will join local students, give talks and demonstrate skills.
The Olympic Sailing Center will be festive during the race. Cultural and entertainment activities will be held. The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow night at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The Extreme Sailing Series was in Muscat in Oman before it stopping at Qingdao.
Besides Qingdao, it will also visit Istanbul in Turkey, Boston in the United States, Cowes in Britain, Trapani in Italy, Nice in France, Almeria in Spain and Singapore.
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