Australian Sailing Team ready to race
As the final hours tick down to the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Australian Sailing Team is feeling quietly calm and confident.
'Australian Sailing Team Beijing Olympics 2008'
Australian Sailing Team
Australia's Olympic sailors are poised and ready for competition to start, happy with the fact that their preparation has been meticulous. With the team spending several days in Hong Kong for some well-deserved R&R en-route to Qingdao, the last week has been filled with final training, boat preparation and settling into the athlete village.
Team members were presented with their Olympic blazer pockets on Tuesday evening, a proud moment for everyone.
With everything in place, it's now a matter of the conditions and the competition. For the Women's 470 team of Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson, Wednesday marked their final day of training prior to starting competition on 11 August. With foggy conditions in Qingdao, their session was kept short due to limited visibility but they're feeling very comfortable with the preparations that they've done.
'Today is our last day of training before competition on the 11th,' said Rechichi.
'We're going to take some time out and we're looking forward to heading to Beijing for the opening ceremony on Friday.'
Whilst there's been plenty of speculation about potential typhoons, resident weather expert Sam Cleland has advised the Aussies not to be concerned about typhoons at this stage. Conditions over the coming days are expected to remain light with the possibility that fog will continue.
The following members of the Australian Sailing Team will march as part of the Australian Olympic Team at the Opening Ceremony in Beijing on Friday 8 August:
Jessica Crisp - RSX
Sarah Blanck - Laser Radial
Tessa Parkinson & Elise Rechichi - Women's 470
Darren Bundock & Glenn Ashby - Tornado
Iain Murray & Andrew Palfrey - Star
Tom Slingsby - Laser
Nathan Wilmot & Malcolm Page - Men's 470
Rob Brown - AST Olympic Sailing Program Manager
Euan McNichol -Star Coach
Arthur Brett - Laser Coach
Dr Paul Preisz - AST Doctor
The first competitors to set sail will be Anothony Nossiter in the Finn class and the Yngling team of Krystal Weir, Karyn Gojnich and Angela Farrell - both classes begin competition on Saturday 9 August. The 49ers will join them on the water from Sunday 10 August.
www.australiansailingteam.com.au
by Nicole Browne 
sunrise beach, QLD
