470 European Championship media invite – VIP day and Opening Ceremony, Wednesday 27 June from 1100 hrs, Largs

Date: Wednesday 27 June 2012

Timings:

1100 VIP photo call at top of old slipway, Largs Sailing Club, Largs Yacht Haven, Irvine Road, Largs, Ayrshire KA30 8EZ, 01475 675333

VIP guest list:

Stephen Leckie, Chairman Tourism Leadership Group
David Lamont, Operations Manager Scottish Canals
Martin Latimer, Board Director, Scottish Canals
Kim Atkinson, Policy Director, Scottish Sports Association
Marc Crothall, CEO Scottish Tourism Alliance
Fiona Barron, Chairman 470 European Championship
James Stuart, COO, RYA Scotland
Nadia Cesari, Events Executive, EventScotland
Dorothy Fenwick, VisitScotland Board Member
Tom Chambers, Homecoming Director

1200 - 1300 Practice race – press boat available.
Followed by meet and greet with selected teams.

1600 Opening ceremony starts at the Pencil monument (at the south end of the Prom, near to Largs Marina) and parades to Largs Sailing Club /Scottish Sailing Institute to make the official opening at the race venue.

Background:

The 470 European Championship 2012 will take place in Largs, Scotland from 25 June – 4 July 2012. Host venue, Largs Sailing Club in Ayrshire is one of Scotland's premier dinghy and keel boat racing clubs, and boasts a state of the art clubhouse, with immediate access to some of the best and most scenic racing water in Europe.

Located on the west coast of Scotland, about 30 minutes’ drive west of Glasgow, Largs is a well proven championship sailing venue. Events recently hosted include the 2009 RYA Volvo Youth National Championships, 2009 Optimist UK Nationals and the 2010 Laser Radial Worlds.

The 470 European Championship has attracted 56 men/mixed and women’s 470 teams, and is a key fixture on the international calendar. Eleven teams will go straight from Scotland to represent their nations on the start line at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition.

Racing gets underway on 28 June 2012 and the teams will sail in two separate fleets, men/mixed and women. A total of thirteen races are scheduled for each fleet over seven racing days, including the final Medal Race show down on Wednesday 4 July, which will see the top 10 teams in the men/mixed and women going head to head in a double-points race to determine the Champions.

Teams competing at Largs that will represent their nations at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition:

470 Men
Canada - Luke Ramsay / Michael Leigh
Croatia - Sime Fantela / Igor Marenic (current European Champions)
Germany - Ferdinand Gerz / Patrick Follmann
Greece - Panagiotis Kampouridis / Efstathios Papadopoulos
Portugal - Alvaro Marinho / Miguel Nunes
Russia – Mikhail Sheremetyev / Maxim Sheremetyev
South Africa – Asenathi Jim / Roger Hudson
Switzerland – Yannick Brauchli / Romuald Hausser
Turkey - Deniz Cinar / Ates Cinar

470 Women
Croatia - Enia Nincevic / Romana Zupan
Slovenia - Tina Mrak / Teja Cerne

Scottish competitors at Largs:
David Kohler (22, from Edinburgh), who partners England’s Phil Sparks. The pair were 14th in last year’s European Championships, and bronze medalists in the under 21 World Championships.
Anna Burnett (19, from Helensburgh) and crew mate Flora Stewart (20, from Edinburgh) - silver medallists at last year’s European Junior Championships and bronze medallists in this January’s Junior World Championships.

Please confirm your attendance by e-mailing me at: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk

Rob Eyton-Jones
470 European Championships national media coordinator
Email: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 7775 746981

Source: Rob Eyton-Jones

25/6/2012 10:25