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Registrations are still being accepted through to 22 January, with discounted fees until 16 January).

Organized by US SAILING to prepare sailors in the classes chosen for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions, the Rolex Miami OCR kicks off with opening ceremonies on Sunday 22 January, followed by five days of racing through 27 January .

For the competitors of US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, exciting opportunities await: ISAF Grade 1 ranking points for the ISAF World Sailing Rankings; a potential spot on the 2006 US Sailing Team; and, for sailors from Pan-American countries, a chance to qualify their country for the 2007 Pan American Games.

Filled with many well known names and faces from the Olympic sailing scene, the current list of entries for US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR sets the tone for 2006 and includes several reigning World Champions:

• 49er - World Champions Rodion LUKA and George LEONCHUK (UKR), as well as the number one team in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings Chris DRAPER and Simon HISCOCKS (GBR)
• 470 Men - Number one team in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings Alvaro MARINHO and Miguel NUNES (POR)
• 470 Women - Number one team in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings Ingrid PETITJEAN and Nadege DOROUX (FRA)
• Laser Radial - World Champion, number one in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and last year's winner in Miami Paige RAILEY (USA)
• Star - Current World and Olympic Champion and number one in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings in the Laser, Robert SCHEIDT (BRA) will be lining up with Bruno PRADA (BRA), against the likes of Star World Champions Xavier ROHART and Pascal RAMBEAU (FRA)
• Tornado - World and European Champions, number one in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and the 2005 ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the Year Fernando ECHAVARRI and Anton PAZ (ESP)
• Yngling - World Champions and recently named US SAILING's 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman Of The Year Sally BARKOW, with crew Carrie HOWE and Debbie CAPOZZI (USA)

For windsurfers competing on the new Neil Pryde RS:X class, US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR will be the second ISAF Grade 1 event since the board was selected for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition. Competitors from more than ten different nations have already registered in the men and women's fleets. While the class may be new, some familiar faces will be on the race course, including the top two in last year's Mistral Worlds, respectively Nicolas HUGUET (FRA) and Ricardo SANTOS (BRA).

In the Finn and Laser fleets, last year's winners Chris COOK (CAN) and Brad FUNK (USA) respectively are returning to defend their titles.

For more details on US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR, including online registration, the Notice of Race, and the most recent list of entries, please visit the event website at - www.ussailing.org/olympics/RolexMiamiOCR.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2006 Rolex Miami OCR features Nautica as a presenting sponsor. The event also receives sponsorship from all the partners that support the US Sailing Teams: Extrasport, Gill, Harken, McLube, New England Ropes, Nikon, Sperry Top-Sider, Vanguard Sailboats, Vineyard Vines, and Zodiac. Rolex and Nautica are also sponsors of the US Sailing Teams.