Over 100 OPTIMISTs Set Sailing in Dishui Lake

The Shanghai 2016 OPTIMIST Championship—Lingang Stopover was opened at Shanghai Dishui Lake on 10th September. 125 children from Shanghai and around areas took part in this event. With 104 OPTIMIST boats in the starting line at the same time, the record of OPTIMIST race scale in China was broken, as great as a race of international level. Distinguished guests from Shanghai Sport Bureau, Shanghai Water Sport Center, Nanhui New Town Government in Shanghai Pudong New District, Shanghai Pudong New District Education (Sport) Bureau, Shanghai HarbourCity Development Group and Shanghai Sailing Club attended the opening ceremony and witnessed the launch of this OPTIMIST Championship.

The racing boat used in this event is OPTIMIST, which is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 150,000 boats officially registered with the class, and all the 104 boats are supplied by Shanghai Far East Boats, the world top OPTIMIST builder for ten years. More than 100 children from all around Shanghai are attracted to take part in this championship. In the two days’ race, they had great fun and enjoyed the fierce competition on Dishui Lake, showing us their upbeat and positive spirit. 

During the event, Shanghai Sailing Club hosts various land activities together with suppliers around Dishui Lake. Those activities cover the very popular sailor knots teaching, OPTIMIST sailing experiencing, especially the sailing puzzle games sponsored by China Maritime Museum. Parents and kids all can join in and learn sailing knowledge from those games.

Mrs. Demolar Du, president of Shanghai Sailing Club, said,“Sailing is an important way to promote sport spirit, to improve public physique, and to realize the goal of national fitness. This OPTIMIST Championship offered a wonderful opportunity of practicing sailing for children in Shanghai, and Shanghai Sailing Club provides agreat approach for the public to get close to sailing. In the future, Shanghai Sailing Club will persist with promoting sailing’s popularization and the development of youths’ sailing education.”