Fuente info Laser Worlds
Laser World Championships
27th August to 5th September 2010,
Hayling Island, UK
Press Information
Hayling Island SC counting down to Laser World Championships
Hayling Island SC, England, Monday 23rd August: With one week until racing starts for the 2010 Laser World Championships, hosts Hayling Island Sailing Club are primed and ready to play their role in delivering one of the biggest and most prestigious Olympic class World Championships each year.
The Laser World Championships have grown substantially since they were last held in the United Kingdom, in Falmouth in 1988 when there were 88 entries from 24 different countries and Glenn Bourke (AUS) won the first of his three back-to-back Laser world titles.
Hayling Island sees an entry of 160 men qualified to represent 51 different countries as well as an entry of 137 Juniors who will compete for the inaugural Laser Junior world title. So the waters off the renowned English club will have nearly 300 sailors competing on two different course areas. The Laser Junior World Championships is for sailors between the ages of 17 and 20.
After a preliminary practice race on Sunday 29th August, competition for the titles starts on Monday 30th August. The qualifying series which splits the total open fleet into gold, silver and bronze divisions, runs Monday 30th to Thursday 2nd September with two races scheduled each day. The final series is scheduled to set two races a day from Friday with the title presentations on Sunday 5th September.
“We are all fully prepared and ready to go. We have had our organizing committee working on the delivery of a high quality event for well over a year now. Now all the boats are here, there have been sailors here training for a while now and the atmosphere is really building up nicely. The army of volunteers we have are all recruited and prepared. All of the safety boats are here ready to go. The Race teams are ready. Accommodation is filling up fast. The club kitchen is fully stocked with orange juice, energy drinks and pasta. We are ready to go.” confirms Hayling Island SC’s general manager Carol Letten.
The club has a great reputation for running major events. In recent years they have hosted the 420 World Championships, the 505 World Championships as well as the RYA Youth National Championships. Already this season they have run the RS Feva UK Nationals, the Musto Skiff UK Nationals and next year they will be the base for the Flying 15 World Championships.
One week out and it is hard to predict what version of the British late summer weather will unfold for the huge armada of Laser sailors.
“In truth in September anything could happen and we have to be prepared for all the different extremes and possibilities. But suffice to say the Hayling ‘sunshine factor’ quite often prevails, where we can see sunshine here when it raining elsewhere!” says Letten.
“We have more than 100 volunteers offering their time and skills every day during the Worlds. And between the Worlds and the Masters Worlds that equates to an incredible 2500 volunteer days, which includes club members and student volunteers from South Downs College. Along with the fundamental skills such as boat driving and race management, we have made sure that we are well covered for language skills.”
“We have spent many months ensuring that Hayling Island Sailing Club is ready for this prestigious event and are now keeping our fingers crossed that the weather gods play their part in putting on some great conditions! Many HISC members will be assisting with the race management of this event and we look forward to witnessing a competitive and exciting World Championships.” concludes the Club Commodore Mark Wood.
Ends
Further information.
Laser Worlds Press Office Phone +44 7775 671973
e-mail: laserworlds@gmail.com
website: http://www.laserworlds2010.co.uk / and
www.laserinternational.org
