Trial Events For The 2007 Pan American Games

Qualifying regattas to select the sailors who will represent the United States at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been announced. US SAILING has determined nine trial events, beginning in September 2006 and continuing through March 2007. They will be hosted by several sailing organizations across the United States.

The sailing competition of the 2007 Pan American Games will feature nine events, including three Olympic Classes – Laser for men, Laser Radial for women and RS:X for men and women – and five non-Olympic, open classes – Hobie 16, J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish.

The Pan American Games Trials events for each sailing class are:

• Hobie 16 – Narragansett, Rhode Island, 11-15 September 2006


• J/24 – Tampa, Florida, 18-21 February 2007


• Laser – Newport, Rhode Island, 11-15 October 2006


• Laser Radial – Newport, Rhode Island, 11-15 October 2006


• RS:X Men – Long Beach, California, 25-29 October 2006


• RS:X Women – Long Beach, California, 25-29 October 2006


• Snipe – Clearwater, Florida, 11-13 March 2007


• Sunfish – Sayville, New York, 22-24 September 2006

The Lightning class will hold a qualifying series of regattas in order to select sailors to compete in the Trials. The Trials will be held in Annapolis, Maryland in October 2006. The exact dates for all the events will be posted on www.ussailing.org and www.lightningclass.org once available.

Top Team Set For Rio

US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) plans to send the top eligible team, per event, to the Pan American Games, pending qualification. The Pan American Trials are open to sailors eligible to represent the USA at the Pan American Games.

A complete overview of the athlete selection procedures, schedule of the Trial events and individual class websites for the 2007 Pan American Games is available at www.ussailing.org/olympics/PanAm.

An estimated 5,500 athletes from 42 countries are expected to compete in 28 sports at the 2007 Pan American Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 13-29 July 2007. The Pan American Games are held every four years, historically one year before the Olympic Games. The first Pan American Games were held in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.