The organizers of next month's Olympic sailing test in Qingdao will minimize the chance of calm weather spoiling the race by scheduling the event on the windiest possible day.

"Our weather bureau has been studying Qingdao's wind patterns since 2003 to pinpoint the most windy period during a day," said Zang Aimin, executive vice-president of the sailing committee of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

He is also the vice-mayor of Qingdao.

Zang was in Beijing yesterday to talk about preparations for next month's 2007 Qingdao International Regatta, which will also serve as the second sailing test event for next year's Olympic Games. The first one was held last August.

Qingdao will co-host the Beijing Olympic sailing event next year. The two test events are intended to familiarize sailors with the course and coastal conditions off Qingdao. It will also give Qingdao's organizers an opportunity to rehearse.

"We found that the wind gets stronger from 10am to 4pm every day," said Zang. "We scheduled the competitions to start late in the morning, giving the sailors a chance to catch stronger winds when they set sail."

Zang said the wind off Qingdao is not as strong as off coastal cities in Europe and the United States, and that the organizers could do very little to influence nature.

At last year's first Olympic sailing test event, sailors about the wind and tricky current. Several races were cancelled on days without wind and reserve days had to be used to maintain the competition schedule.

Some 184 flaws were identified during last year's test event. The sailing committee in Qingdao has promised to take care of them to bring the second trial up to Olympic standards.

"For example many athletes found the food provided in the athletes' canteen very boring. So this year we have recruited the 10 best restaurants in Qingdao to provide them the best food of our city," said Zang.

In addition, the city promised to provide "personalized" security services for athletes and delegates.

An estimated 467 of the best sailors from more than 53 countries and regions will convene in Qingdao for the sailing event slated for August 9-24.

(China Daily 07/27/2007 page3)