Exciting moment for sailing in Africa
SOUTH AFRICAN Sailing and the International 470 Class Association are hosting the first ever 470 Class Open African Championships which got underway yesterday and will run until Sunday,
The Championships in Cape Town will also mark the 470 Men’s African Continental Olympic Qualification Event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
SA’s team of Olympians, Roger Hudson and Asenathi Jim, have been campaigning long and hard for the Rio Olympics. While their main training base has been local, all Olympic qualifying 470 class regattas have been held outside of Africa, until now.
There will be one qualification place awarded to an African nation, and with South Africa already qualified to Rio 2016, the continent looks forward to welcoming a second African nation to the starting line at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The 470 Class Open African Championships is open to African teams as well as beyond Africa, with both men’s and women’s teams invited to compete.
Part of raising the profile of sailing in Africa, and particu- larly South Africa, is to host an Olympic Qualifying regatta.
Philip Baum, president of South African Sailing, has been a key proponent in enabling and supporting the holding of the first ever Olympic Continental Qualification Event in South Africa and first ever 470 African Championships.
“This is the first time ever that a World Sailing event is being held in South Africa and only the second time such a regatta is being held in Africa. These are exciting times for the African continent.” said Baum. “Olympic competition requires representation on all six continents. The allocation of a specific Olympic slot to each Continent to ensure as complete a global footprint as possible in Rio 2016 will be a significant spur to growing our sport in Africa.
“The special opportunity of hosting no fewer than five of the Olympic qualifiers on African waters is being capitalised on to highlight the sport to our government partners, national Olympic bodies, our sailors and hugely important to the people of our continent. The support and understanding of all these stakeholders is vital for the growth, development and transformation of our sport,” added Baum.