Sail Melbourne training ground for Beijing officials

by Di Pearson on 6 Jan 2005 Nine Chinese officials responsible for conducting Olympic Sailing for the Beijing Olympics 2008 at Quing Dao will arrive in Melbourne to be trained by Sail Melbourne management in the conducting of Olympic sailing.

Bob Elphinstone, a consultant to the Olympic Games Council and Kevin Wood, Sail Melbourne Chairman, invited Beijing officials to Melbourne last November.

Wood hosted a seminar for the group, which Melbourne’s bureaucracy also attended, resulting in the decision that nine officials from China would return to Melbourne for the Olympic & Invited Classes at Sail Melbourne and avail themselves of some ‘on the job’ training.

‘We are very pleased they are coming to our event and happy we can help in any way that will enhance their experience in the running of the sailing Olympics at Quing Dao in 2008,’ Wood said this afternoon.

The Olympic & Invited Classes regatta starts at Sandringham Yacht Club (which has run this event successfully for some years) on Monday. The Chinese will start their day at Sandringham YC on Monday morning at 10.00am, when they will be briefed, following which they will attend a Race Management briefing.

The nine will then split into three groups and go to three separate Olympic courses for some on-water training, working in with Sail Melbourne race managers including Kevin and Ross Wilson, both of whom officiated at the Sydney 2000 Games and are leaders in Race Management in Australia.

The Sydney 2000 Games were unequivocally voted as the ‘best Games ever’ by the then IOC Honorary President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, and by common consent.

Many who officiated at Sydney 2000 have continued to do the same job for Sail Melbourne each January, so it is a logical step for the Chinese to do some training here and get a feel for Olympic class sailing.

‘We are developing a good working relationship and assisting the Chinese to put on an Olympic class event on the water and land. Sail Melbourne wants to contribute to the success of the Beijing Sailing Olympics and to that end we will also give them some technical support,’ Wood concluded.

The Chinese will also enjoy other activities during their time in Melbourne, which is renowned as the Sporting Capital of Australia.

Sail Melbourne: www.sailmelbourne.com.au