Making the grade

US Sailing has set out the qualification process for Qingdao, 2008

US Sailing has determined the dates and locations for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the 11 events selected for the 2008 Olympic Regatta. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be held October 3-14, 2007 in Southern California and Newport, R.I., with the exception of the Yngling class, which has two separate non-Olympic Trials events.

Only sailors who are eligible to represent the USA at the Olympic Games are able to compete in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. US Sailing has created a qualification system for the Laser, Laser Radial, and Star events to determine the athletes eligible to compete in the Trials.

"The USOC is committed to working in partnership with US Sailing to provide a world-class Olympic Trials event that will be the next step towards our common goal of competitive excellence in Beijing," said Steve Roush, the USOC's Chief of Sport Performance.

Dates and location for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials:

October 3-14, 2007:
49er (Open): Southwestern Yacht Club, San Diego, Calif.
470 Men & Women (Open): US Sailing Center Long Beach, Long Beach, Calif.
Finn (Open): Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Newport Beach, Calif.
Laser (33 slots): Newport, R.I. (hosted by the Rhode Island Sailing Foundation - in association with New York Yacht Club, Ida Lewis Yacht Club, and Sail Newport)
Laser Radial (22 slots): Newport, R.I. (hosted by the Rhode Island Sailing Foundation)
RS:X Men & Women (Open): Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, Long Beach, Calif.
Star (20 slots): California Yacht Club, Marina del Rey, Calif.
Tornado (Open): San Diego Yacht Club, San Diego, Calif.

In the Yngling class, two separate non-Olympic Trials events have been designated to determine the sailors to be nominated to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team:

June 28 - July 13, 2007: International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Combined Olympic Class World Championship, Cascais, Portugal
February 9-15, 2008: Yngling Women's World Championship, Miami, Fla.

For the Laser, Laser Radial and Star classes, US Sailing has created a qualification system to determine the athletes who will be eligible compete in the Trials:

Laser (33 slots):
* Top 5 from the 2007 US Sailing Team Rankings as of March 2007 (www.ussailing.org/olympics/2007/rankingsystems.htm for more information).
* Top 15 eligible finishers, not already qualified, from the 2007 Laser North American Championship (June 14-17, 2007, Hyannis Yacht Club, Hyannis, Mass.).
* Top 5 eligible finishers, not already qualified, from the 2007 Laser National Championship (date and location to be announced).
* Winner of the 2007 U.S. Singlehanded Championship (date and location to be announced).
* Eligible finishers by rank, not already qualified, from the 2007 Laser/Laser Radial Last Chance Regatta (date to be announced, Cedar Point Yacht Club, Westport, Conn.) until all 33 slots are filled.

Laser Radial (22 slots):
* Top 5 from the 2007 US Sailing Team Rankings as of March 2007 (www.ussailing.org/olympics/2007/rankingsystems.htm for more information).
* Top 10 eligible finishers, not already qualified, from the 2007 Women's Laser Radial North American Championship (February 1-4, 2007, Lauderdale Yacht Club, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).
* Eligible finishers by rank, not already qualified, from the 2007 Laser/Laser Radial Last Chance Regatta (date to be announced, Cedar Point Yacht Club, Westport, Conn.) until all 22 slots are filled.

Star (20 slots):
* Top 5 from the 2007 US Sailing Team Rankings as of March 2007
(www.ussailing.org/olympics/2007/rankingsystems.htm for more information).
* Top 5 eligible finishers, not already qualified, from the 2007 Star Western Hemisphere Championship (March 31-April 5, 2007, Davis Island Yacht Club, Tampa, Fla.).
* Top 5 eligible finishers, not already qualified, from the 2007 Star North American Championship (July 30-August 4, 2007, Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, Vancouver, Canada).
* Eligible finishers by rank, not already qualified, from the 2007 Star Last Chance Regatta (date and location to be announced) until all 20 slots are filled.

Upon approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the athletes who win the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials will be named par of the U.S. Olympic Team and will compete in the Olympic Regatta, to be held August 9-21, 2008 in Qingdao, China.