US SAILING ANNOUNCES TRIAL EVENTS FOR
THE 2007 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (June 20, 2006) – Qualifying regattas to select the sailors who will represent the United States at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been announced. US SAILING, the national governing body of the sport, has determined nine trial events, beginning in September 2006 and continuing through March 2007. They will be hosted by several sailing organizations across the United States.

The sailing competition of the 2007 Pan American Games will feature nine events, including three Olympic classes -- Laser (Men), Laser Radial (Women) and RS:X (Men and Women) -- and five non-Olympic, open classes -- Hobie 16, J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish.

The Pan American Games Trials events for each sailing class are:
• Hobie 16 -- Narragansett, R.I., September 11-15, 2006
• J/24 – Tampa, Fla., February 18-21, 2007
• Laser -- Newport, R.I. , October 11-15, 2006
• Laser Radial -- Newport, R.I. , October 11-15, 2006
• RS:X Men -- Long Beach, Calif., October 25-29, 2006
• RS:X Women -- Long Beach, Calif., October 25-29, 2006
• Snipe -- Clearwater, Fla., March 11-13, 2007
• Sunfish -- Sayville, N.Y., September 22-24, 2006

The Lightning class will hold a qualifying series of regattas in order to select sailors to compete in the Trials. The Trials will be held in Annapolis, Md., in October 2006. The exact dates for all the events will be posted on www.ussailing.org and www.lightningclass.org once available.

US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) plans to send the top eligible team, per event, to the Pan American Games, pending qualification. The Pan American Trials are open to sailors eligible to represent the Unites States at the Pan American Games.

A complete overview of the athlete selection procedures, schedule of the Trial events and individual class Web sites for the 2007 Pan American Games is available at: www.ussailing.org/olympics/PanAm.

An estimated 5,500 athletes from 42 countries are expected to compete in 28 sports at the XV Pan American Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 13-29, 2007. The Pan American Games are held every four years, historically one year before the Olympic Games. The first Pan American Games were held in 1951 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

For more information on the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, please visit the event website: www.rio2007.org.br/pan2007/ingles/indexing.asp.  

The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING) is the national governing body for sailing and sailboat racing. Headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, the organization's mission is to encourage participation and promote excellence in sailing and racing 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 Team. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.  

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