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4 October 2005, 11:59 am

Opening Ceremony Gets Championship Underway

IFDS Single-Person Dinghy World Championship 2005

San Felice Circeo, Italy

The opening ceremony for the 2005 IFDS Single-person Dinghy World Championship took place last night with more than 20 sailors in San Felice Circeo, Italy to battle for the World title and the Sabaudia's Cup.

Rain washed out the second day of practice racing yesterday with the sailors instead taking advantage of the free time to head into nearby Latina. The last two competitors arrived from Australia and classifications were completed.

The rain held off in the evening for the opening ceremony with a colourful and exciting display of traditional Italian flag throwing, followed by a buffet dinner. Sailors, support teams and officials are ready for the start of racing today, where eleven of the competitors from six nations will compete with full servo-assistance (electronic control of the winches for helm, mainsheet and jib sheet) for the World title in identical Access Liberty dinghies.

A total of ten races are scheduled with two per day starting from today through until Sunday 9 October with a lay day on Friday.

World Sailing TV

Lithuania's Juozas Bernotas came out on top in the Men's RS:X whilst Russia's Stefania Elfutina was triumphant in the Women's RS:X. Both sailors claim the first Abu Dhabi ISAF Sailing World Cup Final spots whilst Jock Calvert (AUS) and Joanna Sterling (AUS) picked up the Oceanic spots for the Emirati finale.

A tight group of five young Papua New Guinean (PNG) Laser sailors are stepping up their 2015 Pacific Games competition program using this week's ISAF Sailing World Cup Melbourne. PNG is one of 33 countries represented at the important Oceanic event, the largest Olympic sailing regatta in the southern hemisphere.