Battle for final places

Sailors will be competing for the final Olympic places at the 470 World Championship

After almost four years campaigning in the XXIX Olympiad, sailing athletes will measure strength at their last World Championships prior to the Olympic Sailing Regatta, taking place next Summer at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The World Championships in the International 470 class, the class representing the “two person dinghy” for both men and women at the Olympic Sailing Regatta, will take place from 21 to 30 January on Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne in Australia.
 
Reigning World Champions Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page from Australia (470 Men) and Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout from the Netherlands (470 Women) will have a tough job defending their World titles and fight, to claim the Worlds title to their names for the fourth time.

During the last few years, many different crews in the 470 class from different nations and continents, have managed to climb the podium at International 470 Class Championships and major events. With their proven ability to win races, they will push it hard to break the respective Australian and Dutch leadership.

Having this trend of changing leaders in mind. it looks like the number of contenders for the Worlds title is higher then ever.

Competition around the globe

The 470 World Championships have taken place on different continents the last three years, (USA 2005, China 2006, Portugal 2007), and now the action is brought to Australia, with 153 entries from an impressive number of 38 representing nations.
 
Nations still in the race to qualify and represent their country at the 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta.

Besides the challenge for the World title, this event will decide the remaining 25% of country qualifications for the Olympic Sailing Regatta. 29 crews will start at the Olympic Sailing Regatta in the men’s two person dinghy, and 19 in the women’s.
 
At the ISAF Sailing World Championships last year in Cascais, Portugal, 22 countries qualified in the 470 Men and 14 in the 470 Women.
 
There is hot competition for the Olympic dream, meaning the seven remaining places in the men’s 470, will be spread between 15 nations that have not qualified. In the women’s 470 it will be even harder, where 17 nations will compete for only five remaining places.
 
Support to Olympic dreams:

To ensure all nations around the World have a chance to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta, 470 Internationale launched the 2008 Olympic Pathway Solidarity Grant programme in 2006.
 
With a 30.000 euro budget and great efforts, this programme provided equipment, training and coaching support at the first qualifying event, the ISAF Sailing World Championships in 2007, and provides financial support for transport and charters at this last qualifying event, the 2008 470 World Championships.
 
The support is provided to crews from nations admitted to the programme by proving they have financial obstacles to take a chance for country qualification.
 
This makes a total of 50 nations from all continents that have been, and still are competing for participation at the Olympic Sailing Regatta this Summer where only 29 starting places are available in the 470 men, 19 starting places in the 470 Women.
 
New young talent, oxygen for the sport on the long run:

The entry list of this World Championship also shows that preparations for the 2012 and following Olympic Sailing Regatta’s have already begun.
 
Many countries send a second or a higher number of crews in both the men’s and women’s fleet, which are often top performing crews from the junior scene.