Dublin Bay, Ireland is gearing up to host over 300 young and aspiring sailors this May Bank Holiday weekend as the venue steps up its preparations for the 2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship.

This May Bank Holiday weekend (1-3 May 2010) over 300 boats from seven different classes will race on three separate courses in Dublin Bay. The format for this year's event is based on that of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships which will be hosted by Dublin Bay in 2012.

Dublin Bay was selected as the 2012 venue for the ISAF Youth Worlds, the world's premier event for youth sailing, in November 2008. Since the first event in 1971, the ISAF Youth Worlds has earned itself a unique place in the sailing calendar. It is renowned for providing the sailing world with its first glimpse of future sailing superstars such as Russell Coutts (NZL) and Ben Ainslie (GBR). Fifteen of the sailors who won medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are past medallists at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. This first visit to Ireland, within three weeks of the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, provides the perfect opportunity to showcase Ireland as a sailing and maritime destination.

The Mitsubishi Motors Youth Championships 2010 will be the first step in preparations for 2012 for both sailors and organisers. Organized by both the Royal St George Yacht Club and the National Yacht Club, three separate courses will be organised in the same format as the Youth Worlds. This will offer the clubs the opportunity to test logistics at sea and on shore in preparation for 2012.

The quality of sailing will be at the top end as this year's Mitsubishi Championship will be the second leg of the selection trials (for International Events) for most of the competing classes, where places are hard fought for on the water.

Many of the junior sailors who will be targeting qualification for the 2012 ISAF Youth Worlds will be competing in the Optimist Class at the Mitsubishi Championships as sailors must be under 18 years of age in 2012 in order to qualify. There will be over 70 Optimists competing for this years World, European, and Under 12 squads.

The Laser Radial, Laser 4.7 and 420 Classes will also be fighting it out for Irish team places too with the prestigious 2010 ISAF Youth Worlds slots also up for grabs. The 2010 ISAF Youth Worlds will be held in Istanbul, Turkey in July and Ireland will be represented at this event by the leading sailors in all three classes.

The Junior Pathway classes, Toppers and RS Fevas will also compete along with the SL16 catamaran which makes its debut on the bay in preparation for 2012 where it will be equipment for the Open Multihull event. The introduction of the SL16 class two years in advance offers sailors a fresh opportunity to train and qualify in this new class to Ireland.

The Organizing Committee's website www.dublinbay2012.com has been set up by the organizers to assist sailors and clubs to prepare for the prestigious Youth Worlds. Full details of all pre-event activities are available on this site including a link to the Mitsubishi Motors Youth Championships 2010.

Hosting an event with over 300 junior sailors provides many challenges for the organising clubs. Over 100 volunteers will man the sailing courses while on shore, 50 volunteers will ensure that the dinghies are launched and stowed in a systematic manner to ease the logistics of launching on each day of the event. Over 1000 dinners and lunches will have to be provided by the clubs for competitors, parents and coaches.

Find out more about the Organizing Committee of the 2012 ISAF Youth Worlds at http://www.dublinbay2012.com/, http://www.rsgyc.ie/ and http://www.nyc.ie/ or contact Fiona Bolger at hcbmarketing@eircom.net.

For more details on the 2012 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship visit www.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2012.