Teams race during the Extreme 40 Sailing Series event held at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center this month. Provided to China Daily

Qingdao is establishing itself as the place to be in China if you want to sail the high seas

Lin Zhiwei said she hadn't seen so many spectators at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center since the Olympic sailing competitions in 2008. "More than 20,000 people lined up to watch the Extreme 40 Sailing Series on the first match day, and it reminded me of the Olympics," Lin, head of the Qingdao Sports Federation, said during the series' Qingdao stage held from April 17-20.

Xie Chuanjiao and Tang Zhe in Qingdao

"The international sailing games in Qingdao have spurred increased public understanding and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing," she said.

Qingdao promoted the idea of making itself the country's "City of Sailing" in 2001. The city enhanced that ideal by hosting the Beijing Olympic sailing regatta, and has since staged legs of international races like the Clipper Round the World event and the Extreme 40 Sailing Series.

Lin told China Daily the federation has extended its two-year contract with the Clippers to 2016 and a three-year deal with the Extreme 40s, and is close to getting the Sailing World Cup as those high-profile regattas have played major roles in building up Qingdao's sailing image.

In a bid to get more citizens involved in sailing - a sport to which many Chinese have little or no access, the authorities are devoting a lot of time and effort into popularizing it at the grassroots level and among children.

According to Lin, more than 100 schools have taken part in the promotion of a program so far, which includes basic sailing knowledge and on-site training. About 2,000 to 3,000 students from primary, middle and high schools have been invited to take part in five-day training camps each summer, and those who distinguish themselves will get the chance to join the international teenage training camp during Qingdao International Sailing Week.

"The Olympics was a great success, but it couldn't give regular citizens the opportunity to take part in the sport," Lin said. "We mobilized the society to donate more than 8 million yuan ($1.27 million) in 2006 to buy more than 1,000 training boats for children and then we allocated them to schools.

"We also launched an initiative which aims to have 300,000 people experience sailing in five years, and we have already had 100,000 participants over the past two years," Lin said.

Leigh McMillan, captain of the Wave Muscat sailing team, which finished first in the Extreme 40 Sailing Series Qingdao "Double Star" Cup, said he was excited to see the Chinese, especially children, getting interested in the sport.

"We met some school children on the first day. I chatted with them and took them to my boat. They seemed to be very excited about it. They boarded the boat and asked a lot of questions," said 21-year-old McMillan, who finished sixth in the Tornado class at the 2008 Olympics in Qingdao. "The children were really enjoying it, and are clearly looking forward to sailing themselves."

"I think a lot of people here are interested in sailing and enjoy the racing, which is really nice," the captain said. "Obviously sailing is becoming more and more a sport here in Qingdao and China, and it's exciting to have another nation pushing sailing as a sport. In Europe it is a really popular sport and China is following that route the competition was really tough in Qingdao."

The Qingdao event introduced a "fifth-man" concept at the Extreme 40 event, in which ordinary people were recruited to sail with the professionals.

"It was my first time on a catamaran, which is the fastest in the world, and it made me really excited," said one of the "fifth men", You Jia. "I recommend everyone should experience the sport if the opportunity comes they will fall in love with sailing."

Qingdao is also cooperating with other coastal cities, from Weihai of Shandong province to Sanya in the south.

"We signed an agreement with 12 coastal cities during the 2010 Qingdao International Sailing Week in order to develop more large-scale sailing events and strengthen cross-city exchanges," Lin said.

"We are preparing for an international sailing music festival this year, and we will invite all the sister cities and Olympic sailing cities to enjoy the sailing gala in Qingdao," she said.

Contact the writers at xiechuanjiao@chinadaily.com.cn, tangzhe@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/26/2012 page23)