The Formula Windsurfing Oceanic & Australian Championships is not only attracting the best of the best windsurfers from Australia and Oceania, but from all over the globe.

It’s countdown time to the beginning of the 2008 Formula Windsurfing Oceanic and Australian Championships, which will take place at Suttons Beach, on the Redcliffe Peninsula from 22nd – 25th January. With important points for the Formula Windsurfing (FW) World Ranking up for grabs as well as five qualification places for the 2008 World Championships, this is one of the most anticipated continental championships of the season.

At the beach, competitors will be arriving not just from Oceania but from all over the globe, searching for one more victory to add to their World Ranking points. The race office is busy receiving registrations confirming the participation of some of the best Formula Windsurfers in the world.

The list of pre-entered sailors has already shown some of the big names in the sport are coming to Brisbane. Leading the list of favourites for the event win is Steve Allen (AUS-0) who is originally from Brisbane. Steve is a two-time FW World Champion and will be the one to beat for the top position on the podium. But there are others who could present a challenge; previous World #1 ranked Jesper Vesterstrom (DEN-111) from Denmark will be in top form, having competed in Australia regularly over the past few years. Another strong rider is JP Tobin (NZ-151) from New Zealand, a champion sailor in the Olympic Windsurfing Class and also an old hand at FW racing. The 2007 Australian Olympic Class Champion and the current two-time FW Australian Champion Sean O’Brien (AUS-120) will also be ready to add another consecutive title to his belt.

Even the women will find their way to QLD for this historic event, including the current 3-time FW World Champion from Australia, Allison Shreeve, who has won the FW Australian Title many times.

The event will prove to be a spectacle on and off the water, with a variety of festivities going on at the beach during the days. Fashion parades from an exciting Brisbane swimwear company (Hive Swimwear), gear demonstrations and displays from QLD windsurfing retailers (SurfConnect, Goodtime), product displays from Incline Sports and Blackberry as well as clinics run by the World’s best windsurfers all to the tunes of some of Brisbane’s finest DJ’s. Canon cameras will be in charge of the event’s TV coverage, with a DVD production of the event already in place and daily images and streaming video available on the event website (www.fw-australia.com).

This Windsurfing Championships is open to everyone, young or old and competitors from foreign countries and interstate are very welcome. Please feel invited to join us in this exciting competition which will set a benchmark for professionally run international windsurfing events in Australia.

Further information about the FW Oceanic & Australian Championships as well as a media service with press releases, results, rankings, background information and photo/video downloads can be found on the official website www.fw-australia.com.

Contact and further information:

Sean O’Brien

Organising Committee Director / Media Relations

WINDSURFING QLD Inc.

252 Payne Road

The Gap, QLD 4061

Phone: 0402 467 857

E-Mail: seanobrien@aus120.com

Internet: www.fw-australia.com www.aus120.com www.windsurfing.org