Yachting: Sydney or bust for yachties at Olympic trials

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The heat goes on New Zealand's Olympic yachting hopefuls with six days of trials starting at Eastern Beach on Saturday.

But unlike previous Olympicsail regattas, first past the post will not necessarily ensure Olympic nomination.

Yachting New Zealand will instead leave the final decision to its Olympic selection panel of Tom Schnackenberg, Tom Dodson and Don Cowie.

The men's Mistral boardsailors seem set for the biggest head-to-head battle, with Aaron McIntosh starting as favourite but facing a huge challenge from Jon Paul Tobin, Bruce Kendall and maybe Shane Bright. Barbara Kendall appears to have the women's trial at her mercy.

The women's Europe class has attracted some of New Zealand's best, with Sharon Ferris, Sarah Macky, Abby Mason and Sara Winther the leading contenders.

Chris Dickson, with Glen Sowry, continues his bid in the spectacular Tornado class, while the one-man Finn class also holds great interest, with veteran Leith Armit in action.

The men's and women's 470 class should also be close in the 11-race series.

The Laser sailors will bypass the trials as they are in Mexico for their March 13 to 25 world championships and will not have their trial until June.

The 49er trials have already been held, with winners Daniel Slater and Nathan Handley certain to gain a nomination.

The first two races will be sailed on Saturday with two races a day, apart from scheduled rest days on Monday and Thursday, until the following Saturday, when the final race will be sailed.

Yachting New Zealand will wait until the National Olympic Committee makes its selections known before confirming the team for Sydney.