The Hindu : Sport / Sailing : State sailing championship

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 17, 2006

Sport

Sport - Sailing

State sailing championship

HYDERABAD: For the first time in the country, a State sailing championship will be held at Kadapa, in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, from February 21 to 23. The three-day meet will be part of a sports meet of the Kadapotsavam 2006, a week-long festival organised in A.P. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy's home district.

Competitions will be held in a mixed fleet--the Laser, an Olympic class craft, Enterprise and 420-- at the Pathakadapa Cheruvu, a lake of about 450 acres outside Kadapa town. Sailors from far-flung cities such as Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad are expected to take part. The event should see several internationals in the fray, some of whom are attached to the Artillery Centre, Golconda, the EME Sailing Association (EMESA), the sailing arm of the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) and the Secunderabad Club.

It will pit yachtsmen adept at inland sailing, such as those practising at the historic Hussain Sagar in land-locked Hyderabad, against those training on the sea, the latter likely to hold the edge in high-wind conditions. The sailing championship will be interspersed with races of the state kayaking and canoeing championships as well.

The competitions will be preceded by a three-day demonstration of the Access Dinghy, a yacht that enables even disabled sailors enjoy the thrills of the sport in absolute safety.

Arjuna Awardee and International Jurior (IJ) C.S. Pradipak acknowledged the support of Kadapa Collector, G. Asok Kumar in hosting the events and the organisational backup from the Artillery Centre. Transporting boats and equipment, otherwise a nightmare in logistics, have been enabled thanks largely to the sports loving Collector and the Artillery Centre's expertise. — Special Correspondent

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail