The Volvo Ocean Race confirmed on April 18 that China will become one of the stopover countries during the 2008-2009 race; the arrival time to be expected around the Spring Festival in 2009 although the concrete ports have yet to be unveiled in the next two months.

The announcement was made by Mr. Glenn Bourke, the CEO of the Volvo Event Management (UK) at a press conference in Beijing, the capital of China. Mr. Bourke was joined in making the announcement by Mr. Wei Di, Director of China Water Sports Administration Center and Executive Deputy Director of Chinese Yachting Association.

Established in 1973, the Volvo Ocean Race is considered to be one of the biggest sailing events on the planet. Its predecessor was the Whitbread Round the World Race. The sailing marathon was held every four years, lasting for 9 months across 39,000 nautical miles and visiting up to 12 countries and ports. The whole race goes through several severe oceanic and climactic extremes, which poses a huge challenge to all competitors in terms of technology, physical and mental endurance. The interval period of the race has been shortened to three years since 2005-2006 race.

"The Volvo Ocean Race is an event integrating technology, intelligence and perseverance, reflecting the real sports spirit-passion, innovation, adventure and world-class teamwork," said Mr. Bourke.

"We are grateful for China's support in providing us an opportunity to bring the race to this region. China is a strong sports country with long coastline and millions of sports fans.

"We believe that the race will heighten the interest and participation in sailing and other water sports in China and Asia."

Mr. Wei supports the launch of the Volvo Ocean Race in China by saying that "It is a professional and international sailing event. The arrival of the race will definitely improve the development of water sports in China, especially in the post-Olympic era."

A cooperation agreement that aims to promote sailing in China has also been signed. Meanwhile sailors who will participate into the race on behalf of China are under consideration.

The organization committee is also seeking sponsorships from commercial interests to raise the funds required for the construction of a Chinese boat and necessary resources to support the team to compete in the race.

The 2008-2009 race will start from Alicante Port, Spain in October 2008, going through Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, South America, North America and back to Europe to finish.

The sailboat in the fleet will be the Volvo Open 70, the fastest monohull ocean racing yacht in the world that is able to achieve 24-hour record stands at 500 miles. With 21.5m long, 32m high, 6m wide and 5m below the water, the 14,000kg boat will have 11 member crews on board among whom including a media person to record and even broadcast the challenging life of sailors.

The fleet will arrive in China around the spring festival in 2009 and stay for about three weeks during which various activities related to sailing such as arrival and departure ceremonies will all be scheduled. In other words, it will not only be a professional sailing event, but also a cultural and recreational carnival for local audiences.

So far, several coastal cities such as Tsingtao and Shanghai have shown enthusiasm and applied for the pit stop or stopover ports where the in-port race will be held and race village will be built. The qualification, however, rests with physical conditions, economic development level, infrastructure of facilities, commercial and cultural influence of the city, and expertise for organization and coordination.

Further entries for the 2008-09 race will be announced once negotiations with ports and sponsors are complete.