Olympics Go To 11 Classes of Sailboats

The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee listened to its constituents and has reinstated the Star Class for the 2000 Olympics to be sailed in Sydney Harbor. The Star, a keelboat, has been a mainstay and a tradition since 1932, with the exception of 1976 when it was dumped in favor of the ill-fated Tempest Class. (Many sailors didn't like the Tempest-the Brits even went so far as to burn theirs to teh waterline after the games were over.)

The United States will hold its Olympic trials 1999 in St. Petersburg, FL, Cocoa Beach, FL and Santa Cruz, CA. In early 2000, the trials venue will be San Francisco.

The principal selection criteria, according to Olympic Sailing Committee chair Robert H. Hobbs of Vernon, CT, was to find conditions closely approximating those expected in Sydney during the Olympic Regatta. "In a departure from past procedure, trials in several classes will be held in the fall of '99," Hobbs said, "almost a full year before the Games, in order to gaurantee significant training time in Sydney for our trials winners."