Olympic Keel selection to be known today

SAILING COLUMN:THE STAR keelboat nomination for Beijing is expected to be announced by the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) at lunch-time today. The selection of one of three candidates for the Qingdao regatta will come from a combination of unfettered decisions by ISA coaches, their Olympic Steering Group (OSG) and, ultimately, this morning, the association board.

It will be the first time since Barcelona 1992 that selection in the class has been made by a committee rather than purely from on-the-water trials.

The OSG say they took all factors into consideration during their meeting on Wednesday evening, including who is likely to do best at Qingdao, results to date and other relevant input.

The three campaigns in the running for the Olympic berth are Max Treacy and Anthony Shanks, who qualified the country at the World Championships in Miami last month when they finished 14th overall in a fleet of 104; Peter O'Leary and Steven Milne, who finished 17th in Florida; and Maurice O'Connell and Ben Cooke.

Chairman of the OSG Colm Barrington says that in the context of three candidates, all with significant merit, the procedures worked very well.

"I don't think that if we had a system based purely on results we would have made any better a decision" he said.

Meanwhile, an Olympic silver medal, representation at eight of the last nine Olympic Games and 27 national championship winners in seven different classes are among the highlights contained in Malahide: 50 Years of Sailing, a publication marking Malahide Yacht Club's golden jubilee this year.

Written by journalist Graham Smith (a club member since its inception in 1958), it outlines the achievements of the members both at home and abroad at the highest levels of the sport.

The colour, 80-page publication was launched by medallist David Wilkins at a reception in the club on Wednesday evening.

Abroad, it was always going to be an outside chance given the tight deadlines, but The Green Team's Irish Volvo 70 boat will not now make the start line of June's Round Ireland race, says team chief executive Jamie Boag.

The hull was completed in China this week and will be shipped to Europe this Month, but a delay in the manufacture of the mast and rigging means the biennial race from Wicklow on June 21st is no longer on the cards.

The boat is expected to arrive here in July and be based in Galway.

The Volvo Ocean Race starts in Spain next October.