13th City Day Open Regatta from Feb 25
The 13th City Day Open Regatta 2012 organised by Kinabalu Yacht Club (KYC) and Sabah Sailing Association (SAILA) will be held on Feb 25 and 26 at the 1st Beach Tanjung Aru.
The boat race will be flagged off by the Organising Committee of KYC on Feb 25 at 11am and the prize presentation cum closing ceremony will be held on the next day at 5pm which will be graced by Sabah Tourism Board Chairman, Dato’ Seri Tengku Zainal Abidin.
Sailing as a sport also contributes to tourism as it is classified as Sport Tourism and is value added tourism as young sailors are normally accompanied by families, coaches and managers who will stay here for many days prior to the event to get used to the sea and weather.
The event had become one of the “ranking” races of the State where most sailors for a place in the State team must take part to get a rank.
Many sailors throughout the State and from Navy, Labuan as well as Indonesia are expected to participate in the annual event.
This event is held traditionally in the month of February which was the month Kota Kinabalu was elevated to City status ten years ago and also coincides with the North East winds which is the strongest wind in the year.
The classes of dinghies include International 470, International 420, lasers as well as optimists.
For many optimist sailors, the event will be a selection for a series of races for the MSSM team to represent Sabah at the MSSM sailing competition.
The sailors will be required to sail a prescribed course in the sea and several races will be carried out with the winner based on the results of all the races.
Trophies and medals will be awarded different categories of the sailboats gender separation for some classes for example the Optimist and Laser Classes.
The public are welcome to witness the two-day event which is aimed at providing exposure for Sabah sailors while promoting water sports tourism in the State.
For further information please contact admin office at 088-240070, 243070 during office hours or email at kyctaru1@streamyx.com.
Source: Daily Express
