| CANICAL, MADEIRA, PORTUGAL-(14-5-2003) The Quinta do Lorde, in Caniçal, will be the site of the ISAF 2003 Youth Sailing World Championship.
Beyond the existing infrastructures where the operational and management areas of the event will stay, two more sea access ramps will be built as well as all the necessary infrastructures to the fulfilment of an event with this importance. The organizing team has 52 sub-sectors, will have about two hundred and fifty volunteers from the region and from the rest of the country, with experience in national and international organizations.
In the recruitment of the local volunteers the organization highlights the excellent co-operation of the Management of Sport Section of the University of Madeira, the ISAL students and the collaborators and sailors of the regional clubs. It is a unique interaction to the participants in the most diverse tasks to perform.
In a little more than two months from now to the XXXIII ISAF 2003 Youth Sailing Championship in Madeira, the organization guaranteed the participation of 196 sailors from 44 countries to a total of 147 sailing boats.
Yesterday, the promoters of the event – Regional Sailing Association of Madeira and the Portuguese Sailing Federation – made the satisfaction resulted by the number of countries and sailors with entries to the competition known.
The second most participated
To Paulo Rosa Gomes, in the 32 editions of this event held so far, the Championship that will be held in Madeira between 17 and 26 of next July is the second with more entries, but not surpassing the record of sailors and countries present achieved in France four years ago, in part due to the absence of the Middle East countries because of the international tension that is still present caused by the war on Iraq.
The countries are divided by different continents: Europe (21), America (10), Asia (7), Oceania (4) and Africa (2). The broadcast of the event started four years ago in France and continued two years ago in Canada where the last competition was held and it achieved an excellent result if we analyse the number of entries of countries and the number of sailors.
António Mesquita, from the organization, pointed out the fact that New Zealand wants to defend the title won in Canada and that France wishes to conquer it back, as well as other countries with a strong potential. Beyond the international importance of the event, this one defines to the classes involved the qualification of the sailors to the Olympic Games of the next year in Greece.
The national team to this World Championship has already a sailor qualified, Paulo Teixeira from Madeira, in Mistral One Design, from the “Centro Treino de Mar”. As to the other participants the qualification will be done in the sequence of the results obtained in the National Championships that will occur in the next few days, where another madeiran might make part of the Portuguese team.
The programme of the event has six days with regattas and one Lay day after the third day of competition, it will be dedicated to the Laurissilva from Madeira and, afterwards, a walk in the town (Funchal).
Opening in Machico and Closing in Funchal
The opening of the championship will be held in the bay of Machico on the 18th of July at 06.00 p.m., place where the discoverers of Madeira first landed, Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira. The closing will be on the pier of the city of Funchal on the 25th at 06.00 p.m.
The classes involved are Laser Standard (single-handed for boys), Laser Radical (single-handed for girls), International 420 and Mistral One Design, with the following distribution of sailors: Laser Standard for boys (35), Laser Radical for girls (27), International 420 for boys (52 sailors and 29 boats) for girls (40 sailors, 20 boats) and Mistral One Design for boys (25) and for girls (11).
Great innovations in the equipments to be used by the classes Laser and International 420 are not expected, the same probably will not happen with the Mistral One Design, where it is usual in each competition of this type to appear some improvements in the equipment. The sailing boats used in the World Championship will be put up for sale, by using a credit facility that will be available to the collectivities, sailors or any other person interested in its acquisition for a really attractive value and payment facilities.
Three Regatta Race Areas
The competition will be held during six days in Caniçal and Machico with three race areas, one for each class.
The area for the competition has excellent planos de água and we forecast that during the championship the weather conditions will bring winds from the northeast, with an average of 15 knots (27 km/h) and the sea has an tide lower than one metre, clean waters and the average water temperature is 22.C, these are good elements for a well disputed competition.
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