DOHA: Sailors from eleven countries will be vying for the top honours at the Qatar Optimist Cup 2014 which kicks off on December 27 at Katara’s Cultural Village.
The six-day event, which ends on January 2, will see 32 sailors competing in 12 races, the first day which is reserved for practice.
The event is open for competitors born in 1999 or after and is organized by Qatar Sailing and Rowing Federation (QSRF) in cooperation with Doha Sailing Club.
Besides hosts Qatar, sailors from Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Netherlands, Switzerland and Turkey will be seen in action at the championship.
Qatar is one of the four countries which will field sailors in both the boys and girls categories. Turkey, India and Netherlands will have one girl competitor each in the event.
Fahad Ahmed Al Jaber, Executive Director of QSRF said all the arrangements have been complete for the hosting of the championship.
“Three races will be held per day, depending on the weather conditions. The first day is reserved for practice and the opening ceremony will be held in the evening. One day is reserve for team.”
Fahad informed that one day has been set aside as a spare day, while the final three races will be held on January2, followed by the closing ceremony.
“Most of the sailors will be reaching Doha by Wednesday,” added Fahad.
Meanwhile Rashid Al Suwaidi, manager of the Qatar team informed that the hosts will field 13 sailors at the event.
“The Qatar team has been training for the last two weeks for the event in a close camp,” said Rashid.
“Most of the sailors, part of the Qatar Open Sailing Cup, took part in the Asian Games in Incheon South Korea. We have high hopes and the preparations have been on the right track,” added the team official.
The Qatari squad includes Khairadin Bu Shama, Zeyad Al Awalma, Yasin Benzarti, Ali Al Sharshani, Abdullah Al Sharshani, Moshin Al Sharshani, Mohammad Al Sharshani, Ali Al Marhoun, Rashid Al Awalma, Abdulrahman Al Nasr, Ghanim Al Sulait and Rashid Talfat.
The Qatar event will be an ideal event for sailors from the host country ahead of next month GCC championship which takes place in Oman, said Rashid.
“The Doha championship will serve as a good preparation for our sailors for the GCC championship. It will also help them to make the necessary improvements and gain valuable international experience competing against sailors from different countries.”
Meanwhile the Organising Committee chaired by Khalifa Al Suwaidi, the QSRF President have been holding coordination meeting with different committees to discuss organisational issues and to form the working committees for hosting the championship.
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