The 2008 International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) Qingdao International Regatta, the largest of its kind in Asia, concluded yesterday at Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center.

British sailors Niki Birrell and Alexandra Rickham celebrate their SKUD18 championship with their coach.

Sixty-seven sailors from 16 countries including sailing powerhouses Britain, France and the United States competed from May 8 to 15 in the regatta that featured all the three 2008 Paralympic sailing events - one-person 2.4-m keelboat, two-person SKUD18 keelboat and three-person Sonar keelboat.

Six Chinese sailors participated in the three sailing events.

Skippers from the Great Britain and Australia, both known for their sailing prowess, had good performance in the races.

British team scored two championships with Niki Birrell and Alexandra Rickham in SKUD18, and John Robertson, Stephen Thomas and Hannah Stodel in Sonar.

China's skipper achieved the 5th place in SKUD18 event.

Su Li, the coach of China team, said "it is already a very good achievement for them because they had been trained for only a little more than two years".

Despite capricious weather including big winds, rain and dropping temperatures, sailors overcame difficulties to complete the races.

Most sailors agreed that a key element for race is the judgment of the wind.

"Because the weather is very complicated on the sea, you need to have an acute sense of wind direction," said Paul Tingley, a 2.4-m skipper from Canada.

"It is very important for sailors to be in a good state. You don't have to take the first place in every race but you will be a winner if you keep yourself in your game," said Alphonsus Doerr, a Sonar skipper from the United States.

Advanced sports facilities and considerate services also helped athletes enjoy the races.

Phil Vardy, a technical representative of IFDS, said "the facilities here are the best I've ever seen for disabled sailors, and the skippers' performances are very inspiring".

Service standards set for the international regatta are all in line with those for 2008 Paralympic Sailing Competition, which will be held in Qingdao in September, making the concluded competition a successful tuneup for this autumn's sailing gala.

(China Daily May 16, 2008)