Fans have chance to interview the Australian Sailing Team

by Craig Heydon on 1 Aug 2011 The Australian Sailing Team is giving sailing fans the chance to interview the athletes during the upcoming Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, the test event for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The team has launched the ‘Ask the AST’ campaign and is offering sailing fans the chance to get an insight into what makes the athletes tick during a major regatta via Facebook and Twitter. Each day during racing a different athlete’s name will be put up on the Australian Sailing Team’s Facebook page and Twitter account, with fans able to send through any questions they may have for the athlete. Through Facebook individuals can post their questions below the daily story and via Twitter with the hash-tag #AskTheAST.

Then at the end of the day’s racing the Australian Sailing Team will film a number of questions with the athlete and post the video on Facebook and the team’s YouTube channel.

Racing begins at the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta with Women’s Match Racing on Tuesday 2nd August with the 49er, Finn and Star medal races finishing off the event on Saturday 13th August.

The Weymouth and Portland International Regatta 2011 is an important milestone on the road to London 2012 as it will give the sailors an opportunity to experience conditions, both on and off the water, which will most closely represent those they will face at the Games.

The event is unique with just one crew per country per class, meaning that the best of the best will race against each other every day.

Australia will have representatives in all 10 classes with Tom Slingsby racing in the Laser class, Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page in the 470 men’s, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen in the 49er, Brendan Casey in the Finn, Jessica Crisp in the RS:X women’s, Tessa Parkinson and Belinda Stowell in the 470 women’s, Krystal Weir in the Laser Radial, Olivia Price, Nina Curtis and Lucinda Whitty in the Women’s Match Racing, Tim Gourlay in the RS:X men’s and Paul McKenzie and Philip Toth in the Star.

The team has already had great success at the London 2012 Olympic Games venue with Laser sailor Tom Slingsby and 49er crew Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen yet to be beaten there in three Australian Sailing Team website