Miami, Fla. (September 30, 2009) – US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR will bring together the world’s top sailors for elite-level competition in the classes selected for the Olympic and Paralympic Games from January 24-30, 2010, US SAILING announced today. Held on picturesque Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, Fla., this prestigious event is the second stop on the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) Sailing World Cup 2009-2010 circuit. The Notice of Race is now available online at the newly-launched event web site, RMOCR.ussailing.org.  

Starting November 13, 2009, competitors and coaches will be required to register online at RMOCR.ussailing.org. Online registration is mandatory, as on-site registration will not be available. Women’s Match Racers must register online prior to the December 1, 2009; the registration deadline for all other events is January 8, 2010.

"We're very excited about the second year of the ISAF Sailing World Cup, and we expect a great turnout for US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR,” said Gary Bodie (Hampton, Va.), the co-organizer of the event. 

Rolex Miami OCR is open to boats competing in events chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. The 10 Olympic classes are: Laser Radial (women), Laser (men), Finn (men), Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er (men), Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Star (men) and Elliott 6m (women). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR (open, able and disabled), SKUD18 (mixed, disabled) and Sonar (open, disabled). In addition to being a world-ranking event, it is also a US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics qualifier.

For fleet racing in the Olympic classes, the regatta will consist of a five-day opening series and a double-point medal race. The top ten finishers in the opening series of each event will advance to the medal race. Competitors in the Paralympic classes will have five days of fleet racing and no medal race. For match racing, which makes its debut in the 2012 Olympic Games, the regatta will consist of an opening series, a knockout series, and a sail-off for boats not advancing to the knockout series. Medals will be awarded to the top three boats in each Olympic and Paralympic event on Saturday, January 30.

Regatta Headquarters will be located at the US Sailing Center Miami, an official Olympic training center, in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, Fla. Event organizers have partnered with the city of Miami to provide world-class venues for competition. Additional hosts for the event include Coral Reef Yacht Club, Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Miami Rowing Club and Shake-a-Leg Miami. These sailing organizations host classes onshore, as well as help run the on-the-water racing. The Coral Reef Yacht Club also hosts the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

In addition to title sponsor Rolex Watch U.S.A., US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Miami OCR is also sponsored by AlphaGraphics, Sperry Top-Sider, Harken and Team McLube.