Beijing Olympics 2008 Sailing Events

History of Sailing Sports:

In early times, sailing was used as a means of transport.
The modern form of sailing or “yachting” originated in the Netherlands.
International yacht racing began in 1851.
Sailing was first contested at the 1900 Olympics.
It has been on every Olympic program since 1908.
Every year, attempts are made to introduce smaller boats with fewer crew members.
Separate sailing competitions for women were introduced in 1984.
The Olympic sailing programme in 2000 consisted of men's, women's and mixed events.
In 2000, the sport came to be officially known as “sailing” in the Olympics.

Venue for Sailing Sports:

The sailing event of the 29th Olympic Games will be held at Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center from August 9-21, 2008.

Athlete Quota for Sailing Sports:

153 men's event places
137 women's event places
110 open event places
Total of 400 athletes

Equipments Required for Sailing Sports:

Boom: A horizontal pole or spar to which the bottom of a sail is attached.
Catamaran: A boat with parallel twin hulls.
Centerboard: A movable, fin-shaped protrusion under the hull to prevent capsizing.
Dinghy: A small sailing boat, rowing boat or ship's tender.
Finn: A single-handed centerboard dinghy class.
49ER: A double-handed, high-performance dinghy class used for open competition.
470: A double-handed dinghy class used for men's and women's competition.
Genoa: The larger triangular forward sail in a sloop-rigged yacht.
Jib: The smaller triangular forward sail in a sloop-rigged boat.
Keel: A fixed, fin-shaped protrusion on the bottom of the hull for stability.
Keelboat: A sailing yacht with a fixed keel.
Kite: A colorful sail for greater speed.
Laser: A single-handed centerboard dinghy class, used for open competition.
Mainsail: The larger sail behind the mast.
Mainsheet: The rope which controls the movement of a mainsail.
Mistral: A one-person sailboard.
Sailboard/ Windsurfer: A lightweight, polyurethane, surfboard-like craft with a mast, boom and sail.
Sheet: A rope used to control and tension the sail and rigging.
Skiff: A light, open, small sailing boat.
Sloop rig: A sail plan composed of two sails - a mainsail and a jib, or Genoa.
Soling: A three-person keelboat used for open competition.
Sonar: A three-person keelboat used for open competition in the Paralympics Games.
Spar: A general term referring to a boat's mast, boom and spinnaker pole.
Spinnaker: A large sail to obtain greater speed.
Star: A two-person keelboat used for open competition.
Stay: A strong rope, commonly made of wire, used to support a mast.
Tiller: A handle attached to the rudder and used by the skipper to control steering.
Tornado: A two person Catamaran used in open competition.
Trapeze: Harness device worn by sailors to help them lean outboard.
2.4MR: A single-handed keelboat class used for open competition in the Paralympics Games.