Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The Azerbaijani capital is getting ready to welcome the 470 World Championships in sailing in 2016, the Azerbaijan Sailing Federation reported.

The decision to choose Azerbaijan as the country that will host the 2016 World Championship was made by the General Assembly of the International 470 Class Association in Athens with the highest number of votes (254).

The International 470 is the class of boat used for both the men’s two person and women’s two person dinghy events at the Olympic Games, according to the International 470 Class Association.

Today, the 470 is sailed in more than 61 nations around the world. It has been used for Olympic sport since 1976, where it was sailed in an open event before the introduction of separate events for men and women in 1988.

The 470 has a high performance sailing dinghy suitable for body weights from all continents and performs in a wide range of weather conditions. The boat is equipped with a spinnaker and trapeze, so a mastery of teamwork is necessary for good performance and to stay competitive.

This class of boat is often cited as the most challenging and dynamic of the boats at the Olympics.

The 470 has already been used in nine Olympic Games, and over 18 nations have become Olympic medal winners in the men’s and women’s events.

In Azerbaijan, the event will take place in the Caspian Sea, the pearl of the region that is home to 141 species of fish and rich with natural resources.

By holding the 470 World Championships in Azerbaijan, Baku will witness two thrilling international events in 2016, one of which will be the Formula 1.

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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar

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