470 Team USA » Team

Olympic Sailing Background

Alice — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:25:11 +0000

The Olympic Classes: There are eleven classes of sailing in the Olympics, utilizing nine different types of boats. Four of the classes are women only: 470 Women (double-handed), Laser Radial (single-handed), Yngling (3-person keelboat), and NeilPryde Women (windsurfing). Four of the classes are men only: 470 Men (double-handed), Laser (single-handed), Star (2-person keelboat), and NeilPryde Men (windsurfing). The remaining three classes are open to men and women: Finn (single-handed), 49er (double-handed), and Tornado (multi-hull).
“One-Design”: All nine of the Olympic classes are “one-design”, meaning the equipment is manufactured using strict standards for materials, dimensions, and methods used in construction. While in theory all boats in a one-design class are identical, there are actually variations between boats and sails within the design limits. High-level sailors attempt to utilize these variations to gain a competitive advantage. Testing sail, hull and rig configurations is one of the most important elements of a successful Olympic campaign.
Country Qualification: Because of capacity constraints, there is a limit on the number of countries that are allowed to compete in each of the eleven classes in the Olympics. The countries invited to compete in each class are determined by the results of the designated qualifying events in the years prior to the games. The host country is given an automatic birth. For 2008, 75% of the country births will be determined by the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championship in Cascais, Portugal and 25% will be determined by the 2008 470 World Championship in Melbourne, Australia. The total number of births for each of the classes in Beijing has not yet been finalized. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the women’s 470 class had 20 births.
Competitor Qualification: A country that has secured a birth at the Olympic games is free to send any representative it chooses, and doesn’t necessarily have to send the competitor who qualified the country for its birth. The US uses a single-event system to determine its Olympic sailing representatives. The winner of each class’s Olympic trials regatta (16 races over 8 sailing days) earns the right to represent the US at the Olympics.
Courses: Most of our races take place on trapezoid courses. The diagrams below show an outer trapezoid course (left) and an inner trapezoid course (right). The windward legs are typically 1/2 mile to 1 mile, depending on wind conditions, and races take 45-60 minutes, on average.

The Road to Gold

Alice — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:24:53 +0000

Training & Preparation: The key to a successful Olympic campaign is preparation. Teams prepare for the trials by testing sails and hulls to determine the optimum configuration, fine tuning boat-handling and technique, sharpening racing skills and tactical knowledge, and constantly working on physical conditioning. To accomplish all of these goals, teams must attend training camps, arrange for training partners outside of organized camps, hire coaches with expertise in their class, and compete in regattas both nationally and internationally. Many competitors also hold full-time jobs up until a few months before the trials, which makes finding the time to do all of the necessary training and preparation even more challenging.
International Competition: There is no substitute for the experience gained by racing in international regattas against the best 470 sailors in the world. The 470 class in the US is small relative to other areas of the world, particularly Europe. As a result, most of the large, high-caliber events are held in Europe each year, and US teams must travel to these events to gain the racing experience necessary to succeed at the Olympic games.
Fundraising: US Olympic hopefuls rely almost entirely on private donations and corporate sponsorship to finance the training and preparation required for Olympic success. Individual supporters can be part of the quest for Olympic gold through tax-deductible campaign contributions (see our Fundraising section for more details). These funds are used for equipment, travel to training camps, boat transportation, and competition-related expenses, among other items. For more information on corporate sponsorship opportunities, please visit our Sponsorship section.

The 470 Class

Alice — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 04:20:18 +0000

The 470 is one of nine one-design boats used in the Olympics. It was designed in 1963 in France as a modern fiberglass planing dinghy. By 1969 the class was given international status and it has been an Olympic class since 1976. In 1988 the first Olympic women’s event was sailed in the 470. The United States won the first gold medal in the Women’s 470 class.
Key Statistics:

Length Overall 4.7 m
Length Waterline 4.4 m
Beam 1.68 m
Draft .5 m
Draft (CB down) 1.5 m
Weight 120 kg
Mast 6.78 m
Jib 3.58 sq.m
Main 9.12 sq.m
Spinnaker 13 sq.m
Total Sail Area 12.7 sq.m

The 470 is equipped with a spinnaker and a trapeze, and is quite fast, especially when the breeze is up. Tactically, the boat is demanding, as speed differences are small and fleets are usually big. The competitive crew weight is 275-320 lbs, which makes it ideal for both women and men. World and Continental Championships are organized every year with separate starts for women and men/mixed teams. In the World Championships there have been more than 30 countries represented. There are 65 member nations in the International Class Association and more than 40,000 boats have been built in 20 countries on all continents.