Registration opens for US SAILING’s 2012 Rolex Miami OCR

By Dana Paxton, US Sailing on 12 Oct 201122-28 January 2012

US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR returns to Miami, Fla. January 23-28, 2012, for six days of elite-level competition among the world’s top Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. Event organizers have posted the Notice of Race at the event website RMOCR.ussailing.org . Online registration opens October 12, 2011 for competitors and coaches and ends on January 9, 2012.

Held on picturesque Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Fla., this prestigious event is the second stop on the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Sailing World Cup 2011-2012 circuit. “With 2012 being the last year of the Olympic quadrennium, we expect an increase in Paralympic class participation as all of the world’s top Paralympic hopefuls will be coming to Miami straight off the IFDS World Championships, also held in Florida,” said Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), regatta co-chair. “We're hopeful for a good turnout in the Olympic Classes, but concerned that the December, 2011 ISAF Worlds in Perth may diminish participation in Miami."

Rolex Miami OCR is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition and the 2012 Paralympic Sailing Competition. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). In addition to being a world-ranking event, it is also the final selection event for the U.S. Paralympic Team – Sailing.

For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the regatta will consist of a five-day opening series (Monday - Friday) and a double-point medal race (Saturday). The top 10 finishers in the opening series of each class will advance to the medal race. For match racing (Elliott 6m), which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series.

Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing (Monday-Friday) and no medal race. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class on Saturday, January 28.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The event’s newly launched website rmocr.ussailing.org is where real-time racecourse blogging, commentary and fan interaction, regatta results, photos and news updates will be integrated into a live coverage platform once racing begins.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., the 2012 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken McLube, Kattack, and the University of Miami Hospital.