NZL Sailing Team arrive in Rio for Olympic Test Event

In early August the NZL Sailing Team will be competing at one of this year's most significant events on the journey towards the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Officially titled Aquece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2014, the August regatta is a 'Test Event' for the 2016 Rio Olympic Sailing Regatta. On between 2 and 9 August all ten Olympic classes will be based at Marina da Glória for racing inside and outside the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

For the NZL Sailing Team next month's event will provide a valuable opportunity. High Performance Director Jez Fanstone explains; "A key goal for us is to gain knowledge about Rio. We want to be as familiar with the 2016 Olympic sailing venue as possible."

"This year we will use the Rio Test Event, which is the first of all 2016 Olympic Test Events, to build on all aspects of our knowledge around Guanabara Bay, Rio."

This year each nation is permitted two entries per class, but come 2016 this will be reduced to one per class for nations that have qualified.

The event:

Aqueece Rio – International Sailing Regatta 2014
2-9 August 2014

The numbers:

34 countries
320 athletes
250 boats

The Racing Schedule:

www.aquecerio.com