Qingdao still a work in progress

The city of Qingdao has been working on building itself up as a city of sails ever since it successfully hosted the 2008 Olympics' sailing program.

Lying on the Shandong Peninsula, Qingdao has introduced a number of national and international competitions since the Games, highlighted by the Volvo Ocean Race, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and the Extreme 40 Sailing Series. In October, Qingdao will also become the first Asian city to host an ISAF Sailing World Cup event.

Apart from those top-level meets, there is a strong drive to promote the sport at the grassroots level in the city.

According to Zang Aimin, vice-president of the organizing committee for Qingdao's major sailing events, the city has already introduced sailing into its physical education curriculum at local schools. Students from more than 100 schools get the chance to board an Optimist - a small, single-handed dinghy usually used by children 15 and under - each summer. And there are about 10,000 students in training each year.

Qingdao also has a strong connection with some of the world's best-known sailing destinations, including Germany's Kiel and Spain's Barcelona, which has allowed for student exchanges between the cities over the past few years.

The city's sailing bosses are slowly but surely learning how to make better use of its legacy, but problems remain.

Qu Chun, vice-president of the Qingdao Yachting Association and an ISAF International Race officer, pointed out the organization of some sailing events in Qingdao had yet to reach a truly high level; a problem that can be found throughout most of China's main sailing areas.

"The organization of almost all the regattas in China place entertainment ahead of the professionalism and fairness of the competition, but the true sailors really care about these matters," said Qu, who has helped organize the City Clubs Open Regatta International since 2010.

"Good organization, fair play, professional judges and consistent regulations should be the priorities. It's not hard for Qingdao to take such a professional track, because the 2008 Olympics has left the city with a solid foundation," he said.

Qingdao also needs to produce Olympic-quality sailors in order to establish itself as a leading international venue, Qu said.

"Virtually no renowned sailors have come from Qingdao," he said. "The project to introduce sailing in schools has involved a wide range of kids, but the training of elite sailors has been neglected.

"We should use our popularization program to discover talent and build an elite channel through which promising youngsters can become professional sailors. Our mission to build Qingdao as a city of sailing will receive more support at the national level if we can deliver promising sailors to the Olympic team and provide sailing specialists to the rest of the country."

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page23)