And then there were four

US Sailing are significantly reducing the number of Olympic classes at the Miami OCR

Though it will have fewer classes for its 2008 edition, US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR again will fulfill an annual promise to supply world-class racing to sailors eyeing the next Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The event, scheduled for its 19th running on January 27 to February 2, will deliver elite level competition in four of the Olympic classes (Laser, Laser Radial, Star, and Yngling) and all three Paralympic classes (2.4mR, SKUD-18, and Sonar) chosen for the 2008 Games in Qingdao, China. Racing will be eliminated, however, for another seven of the Olympic classes (49er, 470 Men and Women, Finn, Neil Pryde RS:X Men and Women, and Tornado) due to near-direct conflicts with their world championships held overseas.

"The 2008 Rolex Miami OCR will be abbreviated, yes," said US Sailing's High Performance Director Director Gary Bodie, "because it is critical, especially in an Olympic year, for sailors to attend their world championships. For those classes without conflicts, however, it's business as usual, which means full-on competition among the best sailors in the world and even more excitement because we are so close to the Olympics and Paralympics."

Bodie explained that the Rolex Miami OCR traditionally is the only International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade-One ranking event in the U.S. for competition in all 14 Olympic and Paralympic classes. Last year, it hosted more sailors - 855 from 49 countries - than it ever had before, with a whopping 71 percent of the athletes having traveled from abroad. He attributes the event's exploding popularity to a combination of things: Miami's mild winter-season weather, the performance benchmark provided by the US Sailing Team, for which the event is typically a mandatory ranking regatta; and a winter circuit started two years ago by US Sailing in coordination with several U.S. and North American Class Associations. The circuit, like the Rolex Miami OCR, is predominantly sailed on Miami's Biscayne Bay, and this year - although smaller than normal because of the missing classes - includes the Star Worlds in April and the Yngling Worlds the week following the Rolex Miami OCR.

"We'll definitely see the world coming to Miami for these classes," said Bodie, adding that last year's Star class winners Fredrik Loof and Anders Ekstrom from Sweden and the USA's Yngling class winners Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi are expected to be sailing in those star-studded fleets.

For the Laser classes, the international battle is destined to be heated. Skandia Team GBR has named the Rolex Miami OCR as a determining regatta for choosing its Olympic team members in the Laser Radial class. Last year's men's competition was decided among 69 boats by a single point separating Portugal's Olympic hopeful Gustavo Lima from Australia's Tom Slingsby, who is today the world's No one ranked Laser sailor and current world champion.

For the Paralympic classes, SKUD-18 defending champions Scott Whitman and Julia Dorsett will match up against their fellow US Disabled Sailing team members and recently-named 2007 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Champions Karen Mitchell and JP Creignou. Another USA team, that of Rick Doerr, Tim Angle and Bill Donohue, will be looking to a Rolex Miami OCR victory as a re-validation of their own IFDS World victory for the USA in the Sonar class. Medalists from the Paralympics and IFDS World Championships also are expected to compete in the 2.4mR class, where U.S. sailors will have the opportunity to sail against an extremely talented fleet on their home waters.

The Rolex Miami OCR consists of five days of fleet racing from Monday January 28 through Friday, February 1, and one day of top-ten medal racing (for Olympic classes only) on Saturday, February 2, replicating the new Olympic format that will debut in Qingdao.

Regatta Headquarters for the 2008 Rolex Miami OCR are at the US Sailing Center, where the Laser classes also will be located. The Stars will be hosted at Coral Reef Yacht Club, the Ynglings at Key Biscayne Yacht Club, and all Paralympic classes at Shake-A-Leg Miami's facilities. The City of Miami and the Miami Dade Sports Commission also have joined to support the event.

The preliminary Notice of Race is available at www.RolexMiamiOCR.org, which will be updated regularly with up-to-the-minute regatta information and resources, including schedules, results, entry lists, hosts and area information, The final NOR will be posted November 1, with pre-registration (only available on-line) starting November 15. Competitors must register before January 21, 2008 to receive discounted entry fees.