US SAILING ANNOUNCES RANKING SYSTEM FOR
2007 US DISABLED SAILING TEAM

Portsmouth, R.I. (May 16, 2006) - US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, has determined the ranking system for the 2007 US Disabled Sailing Team. The US Disabled Sailing Team annually recognizes the top three ranked competitors in the classes selected for the Paralympic Games, based on athletes’ performances at a series of qualifying regattas. The 2007 ranking system identifies three qualifying events for each Paralympic class. US SAILING’s Pre-Trials and 2007 Rolex Miami OCR are two mandatory events for all classes. The classes currently selected for the 2008 Paralympic Games are the Sonar, the 2.4 Metre (Open Singlehanded), the SKUD-18 (Open Doublehanded), and the Sonar (Open Triplehanded).

The qualifying events and scoring for each class are:

2.4 Metre – Must sail, must count Pre-Trials, Rolex Miami OCR, and one additional event:
• US National Championship – Noroton, Conn., June 14-18, 2006
• Pre-Trials – Newport, R.I., October 11-15, 2006
• America's Regatta -- St. Petersburg, Fla., Nov 30 - Dec 3, 2006
• Rolex Miami OCR – Miami, Fla., January 21-27, 2007

SKUD-18 -- Must sail, must count all three events:
• Pre-Trials – Newport, R.I., October 11-15, 2006
• America's Regatta -- St. Petersburg, Fla., Nov 30 - Dec 3, 2006
• Rolex Miami OCR – Miami, Fla., January 21-27, 2007

SONAR – Must sail, must count Pre-Trials, Rolex Miami OCR, and one additional event:
• Clagett Regatta – Newport, R.I., August 17-20, 2006
• Pre-Trials – Newport, R.I., October 11-15, 2006
• America's Regatta -- St. Petersburg, Fla., Nov 30 - Dec 3, 2006
• Rolex Miami OCR – Miami, Fla., January 21-27, 2007

A complete overview of qualifying events for the 2007 US Disabled Sailing Team and the scoring policies are available at http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/paralympic/2007/rankingsystem.htm. The 2008 Paralympic Games are scheduled for September 6-17, 2008, in Beijing, China. The Paralympic Regatta will be held in Qingdao, a coastal city located 430 miles east of Beijing.

The 2006 US Disabled Sailing Team is coached by Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.). Sponsors of the 2006 US Disabled Sailing Team are Rolex Watch U.S.A., Vanguard Sailboats, Nautica, Gill, Zodiac of North America, Vineyard Vines, Sperry Top-Sider, Nikon, Harken, Extrasport, New England Ropes, and Team McLube.

For more information on the 2006 US Disabled Sailing Team and the ranking system, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics/paralympic.  

The US Disabled Sailing Team is managed by US SAILING, national governing body of the sport. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING’s mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing in the U.S. US SAILING offers training and education programs, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including the US Sailing Teams and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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