June 21, 2005

NORFOLK, VA. - The Old Dominion University sailing squad will host the 2005 Optimist Dinghy Team Race National Championship, July 30-31 at the ODU sailing center.

This four-on-four team race event is open to sailing club or junior program teams sailing International Optimist Dinghies. Last year's Championship event held in Rye, NY attracted 30 teams.

The Optimist or Opti is a 7.5 foot dinghy raced by over 150,000 kids in over 110 countries, making it the largest international one-design class of sailboat. There are over 7,300 Optis in the United States. Ages of the competitors range from 6 to 15. The Optimist Class is a generator of world-class sailors. At the Athens Olympics, 70 percent of the medalling skippers were former optimist sailors.

More information can be found at www.usoda.org or www.2005optinationals.com.