![Asian J/80 Games, Xiamen, China](https://gallery.mailchimp.com/1efe1999a3cf99000c29f8528/images/139f18ba-f811-4ff4-a2d8-ac018379ce51.jpg)
(Xiamen, China)- The famous China Club Match Challenge event will be
taking place off Xiamen, China from November 19th to 22nd. The event
starts with fleet racing for forty-four J/80 teams from across China and
Asia. That event then qualifies twelve teams to sail in the final
match-racing event to determine the overall winner.
The level of sophistication of the sailing teams has increased
dramatically over the years. The top Chinese teams are now doing a lot
more boat preparations, with bottoms being worked on for hours before
practice. That is a large improvement over years ago, when they ignored
the bottoms altogether. This will be the largest ever keelboat event in
China with a one-design class.
![J/80s sailing off Xiamen, China](https://gallery.mailchimp.com/1efe1999a3cf99000c29f8528/images/c779ad8c-6a3e-4585-9ef5-6fa274d1f524.jpg)
Then,
in December, Xiamen is also hosting the first Asian J/80 Championships.
This is an open event, but using International J/80 class rules.
However, the Chinese J/80 Class has modified the class rules for
championship events, with no restriction to professional sailors, since
most Chinese sailors are professional (they have sailed for prize money
in many local events). So far, teams that have committed to participate
come from Japan, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia. The
event organizers are expecting 40 to 65 entries! Boat weights, sail
measuring, safety gear and crew weight will all be done in the three
days before registration.
For anyone interested in attending either the China Club Match Challenge
or the Asian J/80 Championships, please contact Jim Johnstone- at
email- jimjboats@icloud.com or at China cell# +86 185 7722 9501.
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