Friday 3 June 2011

Skandia Sail for Gold : Sixty-Six Nations Begin Their Olympic Pursuit


Marit Bouwmeester (NED) won Gold medal in the Laser Radial class last year, Silver went to Sara Winther (NZL) and Bronze to Sari Mutala (FIN). Image copyright onEdition.

by ISAF media

The entries for the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011, the London 2012 Test Event, have been received with 460 sailors making up the 331 teams who are set to sail at the venue of the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition.

Sixty six MNAs have submitted entries for the regatta which takes place from 29 July to 11 August with Australia, Spain, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and USA sending sailors in all ten of the Olympic Sailing Events.

Since the 1900 Paris Olympic Sailing Competition the nations sending their full quota of athletes have won a combined total of 192 Olympic Medals with 80 of them gold. And their pursuit for Olympic Sailing glory is as high as it’s ever been with the places expected to go to their best national sailors.


Sara Winther (NZL), second at Skandia Sail for Gold in 2010. Image copyright onEdition.

MNAs, who have been restricted to one entry per event depending on the quota, do not have to confirm the names of the sailors they will be sending to the Olympic Test Event until Thursday 23 June. But with trials well underway and continuing at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, the sixth ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta, from 6-11 June, there will be some experienced sailors on Weymouth waters ahead of London 2012.

The Laser has received the most entries with 57 nations confirming places. Among some of the bigger nations entries have also been received from the Cook Islands, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Panama, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago.

During the London 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition there will be 48 nations represented in the Laser, so sailors will be keen to prove their worth ahead of the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships in December, where sailors compete to register their nation for the Olympic Games.


Dan Slater (NZL) is back in the Finn at Skandia Sail for Gold this year. Image copyright onEdition.

With a quota of 42 in the Men’s RS:X, 35 entries have been received. A second entry for MNAs may be granted by ISAF based on the order of each MNAs second highest appearance on the ISAF World Rankings as of 30 June 2011. Meanwhile in the Women’s RS:X 33 nations will be represented with only one entry per MNA allowed.

There have been 18 entries into the Women’s Match Racing competition. This will be cut down to 12 after Kieler-Woche, the final ISAF Sailing World Cup Regatta, with the highest ranked competitors from each nation granted a spot.

In the 470 class the Men’s fleet has 35 entries whilst the Women have 26. The Finn received 27 entries, the 49er has 25 and the Star class has 25.

View the entry list here


Blair Tuke (left) and Peter Burling (NZL) are top contenders in the 49er class. Image copyright onEdition.

London 2012 Games Olympic Sailing Competition

The London 2012 Olympic Games Sailing Competition will take place at the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy and Portland Marina, located in Dorset on the South Coast of England. Racing is scheduled to take place from 29 July to 11 August.

At the 2012 Games sailing will introduce women's match racing for the first time. The racing format will be a single round-robin, quarter finals, semi-finals and then the finals.

The nine fleet racing events will all sail an opening series before the top ten in each event contest a double-points Medal Race to decide the final positions. The Medal Races have a target time of approximately 30 minutes and will take place close to the shore at the Nothe to allow spectators ashore to get close up to the action.

Skandia Sail for Gold regatta
ISAF - Sailing World Cup