Athens - A Logistical Marathon

by Courtesy ISAF on 6 May 2004 400 athletes in eleven events using nine classes will be counting down the days of their final preparations for the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition, which starts racing on 14 August from the purpose built, Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre in Athens.

But behind the scenes, that first day of racing will represent the culmination of years of planning and preparation that will make the Competition an event to remember.

Under the organisational control of ATHOC Competition Manager Dimitrios ALEVIZAKIS, and the watchful eye of ISAF Technical Delegates Goran PETERSSON and Jerome PELS, every aspect of the event has been meticulously planned, researched and practiced at one, if not both, of the Athens Test Events. All the four courses in the field of play on the Saronica Gulf have been sailed in by athletes and tested by race officials to the extent that nothing will come as a surprise when the Games begin.

Dimitrios ALEVIZAKIS, Competition Manager for Sailing, was born in Athens in 1967. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Athens, with a specialization in Sailing. He speaks English and French.

Since 1987, he has participated as a member of race committees in the majority of International Sailing events that were held in Greece, as well as in intra-club regattas and national championships. In 2001, during the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) conference, Dimitrios achieved the status as an ISAF Race Officer.

Dimitrios worked as Field of Play Manager during the ATHENS 2002 Regatta and was selected for the position of Sailing Competition Manager by the Organising Committee for the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games in November 2002.

58 National Technical Officials and approximately 48 International Technical Officials will be required to conduct the Sailing competition, these include measurers, Judges, Umpires, Course Officials and Race Officers. As well as overseeing the racing, these officials will also control the shoreside measurement, protest hearings, and logistics.

Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre:

The shoreside venue, after it is officially opened on 30 July 2004, will be the daily home to all 400 sailors in Athens for over three weeks, as well as a base for hundreds more team officials, supporters, spectators and officials. One of the first Olympic venues to be completed, and built in such a way as to leave a legacy for the future of the sport in Greece, the venue is 14 km from the centre of Athens and has a land surface are of nearly 400,000 square metres.

As well as individual bases for each one of the participating NOC’s, there are lounges, spectators facilities, as well as space for over 200 members of the international media. 700 ticketed spectators can be facilitated daily inside the venue, with many more taking to the water in specially controlled spectator boats to watch the drama unfold. Further details of the shore facilities available at the Agios Kosmas Sailing Centre are available by clicking on the picture below.

Field Of Play

There are four courses to be used on the Saronic Gulf, along with an armada of mark laying boats, committee boats, jury boats, and spectator craft, each fleet has a defined course area within the Schedule of racing. All racing will aim to start at 13:00 hours daily, a time that is obviously dependent on the weather.

The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) through the Athens Olympic meteorological Centre, which has been established for this purpose, will provide the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens with tailored, venue-specific weather services. The primary user of these weather services is the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games ATHENS 2004, although media, other public organisations and the general public will also have access to enhanced services. Meteorological information will be available at the HNMS website (www.hnms.gr).

Athens is mainly located on the Attica plain. High surface temperatures are often observed in the Athens urban basin during the summer time. Generally, in Attica, the distribution of temperature presents a large spatial variability, due to the existence of urban areas and the proximity of water bodies. Gentle sea breezes contribute to more comfortable temperatures near the coasts, while within the urban centre the surface temperature is much higher.

Athens 2004: www.athens2004.com

Olympic Sailing Venue: Click Here