top-ranked members of the US Sailing Team (USST) will get a taste of Olympic competition at The Good Luck Beijing - 2006 Qingdao International Regatta, held from August 18-31. Ranked a Grade 2 event by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta is expected to draw more than 466 sailors and 302 boats from 41 countries and regions.

The first of two annual Olympic Test Events, the regatta will be held at the Qingdao International Marina in Qingdao, a coastal city located 430 miles east of Beijing.

“This event is a phenomenal opportunity to visit the venue and continue to prepare for the 2008 Games,” said US SAILING’s Olympic Committee Chairman Dean Brenner, who will accompany the team to Qingdao. “It’s also a great opportunity for our best athletes to gauge themselves against the best Olympic competition in the world.”

The nine classes selected for the 2008 Olympic Games are: Finn (men); 470 (men and women); Laser (men); Laser Radial (women); Neil Pryde RS:X (men and women); 49er, Star, Tornado (all open); and  Yngling (women).

The US Sailing Team members who will compete in the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta are:

Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy):
• Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.)
• Darrell Peck (Gresham, Ore.)

470 Men (Men's Two Person Dinghy):
• Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (Coronado, Calif.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.)
• Stuart McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.)

470 Women (Women's Two Person Dinghy):
• Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Mergenthaler (Harvey Cedars, N.J.)
• Evan Brown and Caroline Young (Tampa, Fla.)

49er (Skiff):
• Dalton Bergan (Seattle, Wash.) and Zachary Maxam (Coronado, Calif.)

Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy):
• Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.)
• Brad Funk (Clearwater, Fla.)

Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy):
• Anna Tunnicliffe (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
• Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) 
                                                                                                                                       

RS:X Men (Men's Windsurfer):
• Benjamin Barger (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
• Seth Besse (Guilford, Conn.)

RS:X Women (Women’s Windsurfer):
• Nancy Rios (Cocoa, Fla.)
• Farrah Hall (Annapolis, Md.)

Tornado (Multihull):
• John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, Tex.)
• Robert Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Key Largo, Fla.)

Star (Men’s Keelboat):
• Andy Horton (Newport, R.I.) and Brad Nichol (Lake Sunapee, N.H..)
• George Szabo (San Diego, Calif.) and Eric Monroe (Corona Del Mar, Calif.)

Yngling (Women’s Keelboat):
• Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) and Deb Capozzi (Bayview, N.Y.)
• Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), Kim Couranz (Annapolis, Md.), and Margaret Podlich (Annapolis, Md.)

Joining the team in China are: Olympic Director and Team Leader Katie Kelly; Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner; High Performance Director and Head Coach Gary Bodie; Coaches Luther Carpenter, Jay Glaser, Skip Whyte, Mike Wolfs, Kaj Glinkiewicz and James Lyne; Boatwright Donovan Brennan; Medical Staff Shawn Hunt, Mark Kenna and Scott Weiss; Weather Forecaster Jennifer Lilly; and U.S.-China Liaison Dr. David Pan.

“Our athletes continue to work extremely hard toward the 2008 Games and they have the results to prove it,” said Brenner. “I am eager to see our athletes add to their long list of strong performances in 2006.”

US Sailing Team members are continuing to rise in the world rankings by ISAF. Skipper George Szabo and crew Eric Monroe are ranked the number one Star team, while Paige Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe are ranked number one and two in the world, respectively, in the Laser Radial class.

The US Sailing Team has had an unprecedented number of athletes who have produced exceptional results in 2006, including podium finishes at the top three international regattas: US SAILING’s Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta (OCR) in Miami, Fla., Kiel Week in Kiel, Germany and the Holland Regatta in Medemblik, The Netherlands.

For daily results, photos, profiles and diaries from US Sailing Team Members competing at the 2006                      Qingdao International Regatta, please visit www.ussailing.org/olympics/qingdao.htm. The 2008 Olympic                    Games are scheduled for August 8-24, 2008.