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With over 100 sailboats setting sail on Monday afternoon from the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, the formal competition of "Good Luck Beijing -- 2006 Qingdao International Regatta" kicked off with the RS:X(M), 49er, Laser, Laser Radial, 470, Yngling and Finn events at Qingdao, coastline jewel of east China's Shandong Province.

Attracting over 464 sailors from 41 countries including 22 teams from Europe and 9 from Asia, the regatta will feature all the Olympic sailing competition's 9 classes and 11 events, and will run until August 31. The first race, in the Laser Radial category, finished successfully. China's Shen Xiaoying did her country proud winning ahead of Greece, the United States, France and Denmark. In the men's RS:X category, Poland's Lucas Grodzicki took first place in the opening race, but China performed well with He Feng, Fang Zhennan and Wang Aichen taking second, third and ninth place respectively.

Compared with other sports, it seems that sailing can appeal to people from all walks of life, regardless of age and gender, combining as it does human, technological and natural elements. When the colorful sailboats of different sizes and shapes dotted the clear and shining water of Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, spectators were thrilled by the magnificent view presented in front of their eyes -- the beautiful and harmonious combination of humanity and nature. Under the sunshine, the strong and vigorous posture of the sailors shows the beauty of the sport and sailing could enjoy no better showcase.

Olympic sailing in China began in 1978. Compared with western countries, China is only a beginner in the sport, but China has made remarkable progress in recent years with nearly 20 of its provinces, regions or municipalities now involved in the sport. Chinese athletes have won five world championships in women's windsurfing and a silver medal in the 1992 Olympic Games. In the 27th Olympiad in Sydney, a Chinese athlete ranked fifth in men's windsurfing.

With a long history in competitive sailing, European sailors take a leading position in world sailing. 30 percent of ISAF's (International Sailing Federation) member nations are from Europe. In North America, South America, and Oceania, the US, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand have all had their moments of glory in previous Olympic Games. As the sport's popularity soared, sailing clubs sprung up all over the world, cementing the sport's popular status, with Japan being the first nation in Asia to adopt the sport.

For Chinese sailors attending the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta, the final medal tally is not their primary goal, said Chinese sailing team leader Yao Xinpei at a news briefing.

The Chinese teams comprise 31 men and 18 women. Their average age is 26 years old, with the youngest athlete being 16 and the oldest 44. Chinese participation will be seen in all the events of the Regatta.

According to Yao, Chinese sailing teams have varying levels in different classes. "We are doing fine in the laser radial and the RS:X, but are rather weak in the 49er, Star and 47 men and women's categories," he said, admitting that, "The women as a whole are doing better than the men."

Among the 65 sailors in the Women's RS:X ISAF World Sailing Rankings, nine are Chinese, with Chen Qiubin the highest ranked Chinese, in tenth place.

Due to the good performance of Chinese athletes over the past six months, many people have high hopes on the performance of Chinese sailing teams this time. However, Yao said that they have no ranking requirements for athletes in this regatta. The teams' primary task is to familiarize themselves with the venue environment, to get to know their fellow sailors and experience the process of Olympic sailing competition.

The majority of Chinese sailing teams have never taken part in Olympic Games before, therefore the international regatta is a great opportunity for them to practice. Although China is the host for the regatta, due to the climate and venue reasons, Chinese sailors trained mainly in Dongshan, Fujian Province. Thus they are no more familiar with the Qingdao venue than other countries' sailors.

Qingdao Regatta is the first time that Chinese sailors will take part in all eleven Olympic sailing events from the nine RS:X(M), RS:X(W), Laser, Laser  Radial, Finn, 470(M), 470(W), Star, Tornado, 49er and Yngling classes.

The ISAF Grade 2 Qingdao International Regatta is the first Olympic test event for China. It will test all the facilities and systems, both on shore and in the water, from race management to security, from first aid to athlete services. All elements of the competition and venue management will be put through their paces and evaluated.

So far, foreign sailors attending the regatta, when being asked about their thoughts on the venue, have responded very positively, often labeling the regatta "fantastic." To many foreign sailors, it's also important for all team members to learn the weather conditions which Qingdao has to offer well before the Olympic Games and to experience Chinese culture first hand.

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Wang Qian, August 22, 2006)