Sailing

The waters of Weymouth Bay will play host to 10 exhilarating Sailing events during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Did you know?

Crown Prince Olav of Norway won Gold in the Six-metre Sailing class at the Amsterdam 1928 Games.

Boats are identified on the water by a national country code on the sails.

The first woman to win an Olympic Sailing medal was Frances Rivett-Carna of Great Britain, who won gold in London 1908.

Great Britain was the most successful Sailing nation at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 – winning four of the 11 gold medals.

Women have always been allowed to take part in Olympic Games Sailing competition, but events for women only were introduced at Seoul 1988.

The sport’s name was changed from ‘Yachting’ to ‘Sailing’ at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Key facts

Venue: Weymouth and Portland
Dates: Sunday 29 July – Saturday 11 August
Medal events: 10
Athletes: 380 (237 men, 143 women)

Mastery over ever-changing conditions on open water requires skill and nerve. Both will be essential for competitors in the Sailing events at London 2012, 14 days of competition that should offer plenty of excitement and drama in the beautiful but testing waters of Weymouth Bay, on the south coast of England.

The basics

At London 2012, the 10 different Olympic Sailing events (six for men, four for women) will feature a variety of craft, from dinghies and keelboats to windsurfing boards.

Each event consists of a series of races. Points in each race are awarded according to position: the winner gets one point, the second-placed finisher scores two, and so on. After The final race is called the medal race, for which points are doubled. Following the medal race,, the individual or crew with the fewest total points will be declared the winner.

Olympic Sailing, past and present

Sailing made its Olympic debut in 1900; with the exception of 1904, the sport has appeared at every Olympic Games since then.

Led by triple gold medal-winner Ben Ainslie CBE, Team GB has topped the Sailing medals table at the last three Olympic Games. British sailors will be hoping to repeat the feat at London 2012, battling their rivals in Weymouth Bay. London 2012 is considering making Sailing a ticketed event.

Jargon buster

• Fleet race: Three or more competitors racing against each other.
• Match race: Two competitors racing head to head, with slightly different racing rules that allow aggressive tactics
• Port: When looking forwards, the left-hand side of the craft
• Starboard: When looking forwards, the right-hand side of the craft.
• Tacking: When a boat passes through the eye of the wind in order to change direction. Because it is impossible to sail directly into the wind, sailing boats must zig-zag.

Get involved

More than 2.5 million people around the world regularly take part in Sailing. If you’re keen to join them, get in touch with the Royal Yachting Association which operates centres for beginners all over the country as well as overseas. Tthe International Sailing Federation has information on the sport at international level.

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~ by superbowlnyc on February 20, 2011.