Australian sailors set for 2006 FESPIC Games

by Lara Watts on 25 Nov 2006 Australian sailors have arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to compete at the FESPIC Games which starts on 25th November and runs until 1st December, 2006.

The Team comprises of Pamela Murray (TAS) and Chris Riordan (SA) who will compete in the Access Liberty class whilst Duncan MacGregor (QLD) and Rachael Cox (WA) will contest the International Access 2.3m class.

The Team will contend with hot and humid conditions throughout the regatta, however they have completed the registration and classification process and three short practice sessions already.

The sailing competition will be held at the Admiral Marina & Leisure Club, Port Dickson from Sunday 26th – Thursday 30th November, 2006. There will be 18 competitors in each division. Countries competing include; China, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, India and Hong Kong.

Greg Omay, Head Sailing Coach for the Australian Team at the FESPIC Games commented, 'The Team is in good spirits and all the sailors are really looking forward to the competition which begins on Sunday.'

Omay continued 'The FESPIC Games is a great opportunity for our sailors to experience competition at an international level. We aim for them to learn more about racing in big fleets, how to successfully compete in different venues and of course bring home a swag of medals for Australia. Ultimately, we hope the Team members will develop into our next Paralympic Sailors.'

The FESPIC Games was first held in Oita, Japan in 1975 for people with a disability in Asia and the South Pacific. The event started off with just under 1,000 competitors from 18 nations. Since that time, there have been eight FESPIC Games with Australia hosting the 1977 Games in Sydney. The most recent Games were held in Busan, Korea in 2002 which hosted over 3,000 competitors from 43 countries.

For further information about the FESPIC Games, go to www.kl06fespicgames.com.my.