Sailors Look Forward to First Event of New Year
Rolex Miami OCR results will count towards 2009 - 2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup standings

Posted Thursday, January 7, 2010

 
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With only a few days left to register for US SAILING's 2010 Rolex Miami
OCR, more than 525 sailors from 45 countries have registered to date,
proving its prominence as a must-sail event for Olympic and Paralympic
class sailors. The entry list, which has already surpassed last year's
numbers, has quickly become a who's who of Olympic and Paralympic
medalists and world champions. Competitors must register and submit
entry fees online at the event web site, RMOCR.ussailing.org, prior to
Friday, January 8. There will be no on-site registration for this event.
As the second stop on the 2009-2010 International Sailing Federation
(ISAF) Sailing World Cup circuit, this popular event promises elite,
international competition on the waters of Biscayne Bay from January 25
to January 30, in the classes selected for the 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games.

Sailors' results at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR will count towards
their 2009-2010 ISAF Sailing World Cup standings. Gold medals score 20
points, silver is 19 points, and so on. At the conclusion of the season,
sailors with the highest cumulative points will be awarded in their
disciplines.

At this year's Rolex Miami OCR, Great Britain's Lucy MacGregor and her
Women's Match Racing team will set out to defend their 2008-2009 ISAF
Sailing World Cup first place standing, as will fellow Brit Nick
Thompson, who won the last year's standing in the Laser class.

"OCR is the first event of 2010 for the majority of people, so it's the
first chance to see how the winter training has gone, and it's a good
gauge for the year ahead," said Thompson. "The competition is always
tough.

"In Miami, you get a good mix of racing conditions; it can throw
anything at you, like we saw last year," he added. "It's a really tough
event, which makes it stand out from some of the others."

The Rolex Miami OCR is also important to US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
(USSTAG) members such as Stu McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San
Diego, Calif.), who recently finished second in the Men's 470 at Sail
Melbourne for the second year in a row. "We want to perform well at the
Rolex Miami OCR because it's the only [ISAF] Sailing World Cup on our
home turf and we want to back up our silver medal at Sail Melbourne,"
said Biehl. Sail Melbourne was the first event of the 2009-2010 ISAF
Sailing World Cup, and McNay and Biehl scored 19 points towards their
overall ISAF Sailing World Cup standings. The team finished second in
the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings in 2008-2009.

"I think the Rolex Miami OCR is going to be a great opening event for
me," said USSTAG teammate Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.), who won a
silver medal in the Laser Radial at last year's Rolex Miami OCR, as well
as gold medals at two other ISAF Sailing World Cup events, Kiel Week in
Kiel, Germany, and Princess Sofia in Palma, Spain. "I'm going to work on
some new techniques, and I am interested to see how they will pan out."

Aside from its importance on the world stage, US SAILING's 2010 Rolex
Miami OCR is crucial for American sailors in that it's the last
qualifying event for the 2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, which will
select the top sailors in each Olympic and Paralympic class.

About US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR
Established in 1990 by US SAILING, the Rolex Miami OCR annually draws
elite sailors, including Olympic and Paralympic medalists and hopefuls
from around the world. In non-Olympic/Paralympic years, the regatta is
especially important as a ranking regatta for sailors hoping to qualify
for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, which annually distinguishes the
top sailors in each Olympic and Paralympic class.

Rolex Miami OCR is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes are:
Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men's RS:X, Women's RS:X,
49er (men), Men's 470, Women's 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women).
The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled),
SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled).

For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the 2010 event will consist of
a five-day opening series and a double-point medal race. The top ten
finishers in the opening series of each event will advance to the medal
race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet
racing and no medal race. For match racing, which makes its debut in the
2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an opening series, a
knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout
series. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic
and Paralympic event on Saturday, January 30.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an
official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami,
Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide
world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event
include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove
Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing
organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water
racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing
Ceremonies.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING's 2010 Rolex
Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken,
Team McLube, Atlantis WeatherGear and the University of Miami Hospital.

Event organizers will post the latest information, news, real-time
results and photos on the newly-launched event web site,
RMOCR.ussailing.org, Facebook fan page and Twitter page.

About Rolex Watch U.S.A., Inc.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup
defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and
encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing,
including supporting the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, US SAILING
championships, disabled sailing, and offshore, one-design and women's
events. In 2010, Rolex will sponsor over 20 prestigious yachting events
globally, including the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series,
Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, Rolex
Fastnet Race, Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race and the New York Yacht Club
Race Week presented by Rolex.

About US SAILING
US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR is organized by the United States Sailing
Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, which
provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897
and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c)
(3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education
programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of
sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating
certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive
sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US
Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.For more information, please visit
www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Sailing Team
AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.