Qingdao’s bid for ‘sailing city’ status

　　By Ju Chuanjiang

　　QINGDAO: The mayor of Qingdao, the host city for Sailing Regatta of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, believes the city will take advantage of the chance to establish itself as a recognized "Sailing City" globally.

　　"There are 154 Olympic-related projects currently under construc- tion. We are investing more than 70 billion yuan (US$8.75 billion)," said Xia Geng.

　　"There are also test events being held this year and next year. It is a great opportunity to spread Qingdao's reputation of being a hot tourist desti- nation. The government and citizens should grasp the opportunity and try their best to spread the word about Qingdao."

　　The Qingdao International Sail- ing Centre for the Games of the 29th Olympiad is located on the old site of Beihai shipyard, by Qingdao's Fushan Bay in China's Shandong Province. The centre will cover a to- tal area of 45 hectares (450,000 square metres), two-thirds of which will be utilized for competitions.

　　Before the 2008 gala, a number of major international and national sail- ing events will be held.

　　The 2006 International Regatta, commenced over the weekend and running until August 31, will feature sailors from more than 65 countries and regions and is a significant test run for the Beijing Olympics.

　　It is seen as an important interna- tional Olympic-class regatta that will help Qingdao prepare for the Beijing

　　2008 Games, when 11 sailing events from nine categories will be held in the co-host city, with 11 gold medals up for grabs. The Qingdao International Sailing Centre is comprised of the harbour and an off-shore section, as well as an area which will house the adminis- tration and competition management centre, the athletes' village, the press centre, the logistics and function cen- tre, and other affiliated facilities. The harbour and off-shore projects include engineering of the major and secondary breakwater, an embankment, a quay featuring the Olympic Memorial Wall, and the renovation of the shore wall.　　

　　The quay, the secondary break- water, and the embank ment will enclose an area of 15.5 hect areas(155,000 square metres), while the major breakwater, together with the embankment, will occupy 7.5 hectares(75,000 square metres).

　　"Since Beijing won its bid for the 2008 Games, Qingdao has been doing everything possible to ensure a suc- cessful sailing event," said Xia. Organizers said the sailing courses were planned as closely as possible to resemble the 2008 Olympic race cours- es and all activities will be carried out following the Olympic system.

　　The venue is said to be not only a competition venue, but an environ- mentally-friendly leisure area for city residents and visitors.

　　"We have built this marina for all of Qingdao's citizens, rather than purely for the Olympic Games," said Li Fengli, deputy secretary-general of the Sailing Committee (Qingdao) of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad

　　(BOCOG).

　　"We have organized all kinds of activities to help spread awareness of sailing among residents of the city."

　　　　Beautiful city

　　A unique blend of sea and moun- tains and a pleasant climate make Qingdao extraordinary. It has an average temperature of 12.2 degrees Celsius and a total length of coastline (including that of its 69 offshore is- lands) of 862.64 kilometres, of which 730 kilometres are continental. Half a century ago, Qingdao started the sport of sailing.

　　A spokesperson from the Interna- tional Sailing Committee said since 1956, aquatic sports like sailing, yacht- ing, water skiing and naval pentathlons have been seen in the city.

　　Xia said thanks to the long coast line and the large number of bays, there will be 1000 sailing boats and　at least 10,000 people involved in the sport in the near future.

　　Also in a bid to make the sport more entertaining, 13 aquatic clubs reached an agreement in May to set up a sail- ing federation, and will provide more chances for citizens to get involved in the sport.

　　"There have been four international navigation exhibitions in the city. All the shows and the competitions serve as a platform for communicating with overseas experts. They have helped to boost tourism and also the Olympic economy of the city," said the mayor.

　　"We launched a number of city pro- motions in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, France, the US and Australia."

　　According to Xia, the April "New Beijing, Great Olympics" promotional campaign in Australia, attracted around 20,000 visitors who asked for souvenirs and information. Leading companies are also unable to resist the temptation of Olympic- mania.

　　Tsingtao Beer, a leading Chinese brewery, joined the elite club of sponsors of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games last year and its marketing programmes were launched around the nation.

　　After sponsor ing the X iamen International Marathon, Qingdao found success during the World Cup promotion by popularizing the slogan"Watch the World Cup, Drink Tsing- tao Beer" on the screens.

　　The company will also fund beer products and provide related services to the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Paralympics, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Chi- nese sports delegations to the 2008 Olympics.

　　Haier is another brand making headway in China.

　　Innovation and good service have enabled the brand to rise from Chi- na's household appliance industry and earn a great reputation world- wide. Now Haier's technology for electricity-proof walls has become the accepted international standard and its washing machine technology is just as good.

　　ISAF chief praises city’s preparations

　　By Jiao Jiao　　

　　QINGDAO : The sailing director of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has declared that Qingdao is already well prepared for the 2008 Games.

　　Jerome Pels said he was particularly pleased with the per manent str uctures already in place in the city, which will host Olympic sailing events.

　　He added: "Compared to all the other Games I have been involved with, the de- velopment of the venues in Qingdao is in a very advanced phase. Everything is good and it means it will be very comfortable for athletes in Qingdao. We are very pleased with the preparations.

　　"You can ask any of the people here - all of them are very impressed by what they see, they never expected it to be so well developed already."

　　Pels made the remarks yesterday during an exclusive interview with China Daily in Qingdao. As the chief technical delegate for the 2008 sailing events, Pels is working full- time with Games organizers in China. The experienced official has previously worked for the Games in Athens and Sydney.

　　He is currently in Qingdao for the 2006 International Sailing Regatta. The regatta is being treated as the first pre-Olympic test event, and there will be a second next year. Pels said: "The challenge is that China is not very experienced in organizing sailing events. It is quite difficult running water events, so it is not going to be perfect to start with. That is the reason why we start with two practice events leading to 2008.

　　"It is meant to help the competitors and the organizing committee to get useful experience, so they are held more for the organizers than anything."According to Pels, the regatta will attract 0 per cent of the world's top sailors from Olympic classes - including those in China.

　　"China has very good sailors, especially in the laser radial class. Chinese athletes as a whole are growing very quickly. In some classes they are already at the very top," said Pels.

　　Though sailing sports in China are still expensive, some enterprises have started their own teams.

　　Pels said: "In other countries, sailing is not an expensive sport. There are lots of vol- unteers, instead of being commercial. One can spend probably 100 euros or 1,000 yuan to become a sailing club member."

　　Star-studded entries for 2008 test event

　　QINGDAO: A total of 503 athletes from 37 coun- tries and regions had arrived in Qingdao by Friday as preparations for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games got into full swing.

　　As the first test event for the Games, the 2006 International Regatta will play host to a star-stud- ded sailing fleet made up of world and Olympic champions.

　　According to the organizing committee for the regatta, sailors will compete according to rules adopted by the International Sailing Federation last year, including all Olympic sailing categories of 9 classes and 11 events. With such a massive fleet assembled for Qingdao, there are plenty of potential winners in the events. The Australians have been performing well all season long, winning the King's Trophy at the World Sailing Games in Austria and also pick- ing up a string of gold medals at major regattas throughout the year. Tom Slingsby has picked up three ISAF Grade 1 titles in the Laser, although world No 1 Paul Goodoson has been the form sailor over the past couple of months. 470 world champions Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page will also start amongst the favourites for gold.

　　"This event will be a great learning opportunity for us as we prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," Australian Sailing Team head coach, Victor Kovalenko said during an interview with the media on Friday. "It's also important for all team members to learn the weather conditions which Qingdao has to offer well before the Olym- pic Games and to experience the Chinese culture first hand." US Sailing Olympic Committee Chairman Dean Brenner is approaching the regatta in a similar fashion. "This event is a phenomenal opportunity to visit the venue and continue to prepare for the 2008 Games. It's also a great opportunity for our best athletes to gauge themselves against the best Olympic competition in the world," he said. Strong performances from the US team can be expected in the Laser Radial from world No 1 Paige Railey and world No 2 Anna Tunnicliffe, as well as from Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deb Capozzi in the Yngling. Local hopes are firml pinned on the windsurfing event, where China's two previous Olympic sailing medals came from. Amongst the 65 sailors on the Women's RS:X ISAF World Sailing Rankings, nine of them are Chinese, with Chen Qiubin the highest ranked Chinese sailor in 10th place. Another Chinese favourite is Laser Radial starlet Xu Lijia, after she wrapped up victory at the recent Laser Radial Worlds in the USA. The 18-year-old only stepped into the Radial for the first time at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Champion- ship last year, where she took silver behind Railey,and has already scored podium finishes at both Melbourne and Hyères. Other title favourites include the newly crowned Yngling world and European champions and world No 1 crew Monica Azon, Sandra Azon and Graciela Pisonero. Meanwhile, World champions Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks and European cham- pions Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes will form a formidable British challenge in the 49er fleet. And whilst 2005 ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz have not been enjoying a great year in the Tornado, the pair proved last year they are a match for anyone when they find their form.

　　In addition, all the No 1 crews from the ISAF World Sailing Rankings will make an appearance with the exception of windsurfers Maxim Ober- emko and Olga Maslivets. The first day of racing will begin on Monday.

　　International Regatta under full sail

　　By Shan Dong(China Daily)　　

　　QINGDAO: Officials from the organizing committee of the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta said preparations have gone smoothly.

　　"We have set up the city's operation centre, games operation centre and security centre to take care of the preparatory work. We have undergone training exercises in case of an emergency. Security has also been strengthened in some key areas," said Sun Lijie, operation director of the organizing committee.

　　Four hundred and sixty three sailors from 41 countries and regions have confirmed to to take part in the regatta. On Monday, the formal competition will start with the events including RS:X(M), 49er, Laser, Laser Radial, 470, Yngling and Finn.

　　It is seen as an important international Olympic-class regatta that will help Qingdao prepare for the Beijing 2008 Games, when 11 sailing events from nine categories will be held in the co-host city, with 11 gold medals up for grabs.

　　Organizers said the sailing courses were planned as closely as possible to resemble the 2008 Olympic race courses and all activities will be carried out following the Olympic system.

　　In addition, the athletes' centre, media centre and other land facilities, as well as water works, such as the floating dock, have all been completed in time for the regatta.

　　Competitors including four Athens Olympic gold medalists, five silver medalists, and 4 bronze medallists have arrived at the beautiful seaside city, with containers carrying boats and other facilities also due to arrive at the centre.

　　In total, there are 110 sailors ranked in the top 20 of respective categories.

　　"The Qingdao municipal government has worked out a complete city operational plan and a rehearsal was undertaken at the end of July," said Sun

　　"We have tested all the plans and have improved them to make the event perfect."

　　According to local media reports, security measures have been strengthened in and around key areas.

　　There will be more than 1,300 trained volunteers serving the event. Some of them will be deployed in the competition area to provide services to athletes, officials and the media. The others will work in transport hubs, tourist spots and other public areas across the city.

　　Citizens from the city have shown great interest in the Olympic test event as tickets have been selling well.

　　There are also people who have chosen to watch the competition on a boat and according to the reservation centre, at least 1500 people have booked tickets for a boarding seat.

　　To meet the demands of different people, high technology is being employed.

　　An emergency communication vehicle is positioned at the centre with a satellite, optical fibres and a microwave-supported system to make sure of the smooth transition of information even if the ground connection breaks up.