UFIS Airport Solutions is pleased to announce its sponsorship of sailing athlete George Delikouras for the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. Delikouras, a member of the Piraeus Sailing Club in Athens, Greece, will be competing in the 2.4mR sailing class.
“We are happy to have a part in this special sporting event by supporting Mr. Delikouras in his preparations for the regattas,” said Anders Sagadin, UFIS-AS’s President and CEO. “We know Mr Delikouras well through our cooperation with our customer Athens International Airport. We are pleased to be his sponsor for the Paralympic Games thus encouraging the competitive spirit and the will to achieve one’s goals. We hope that our name and best wishes sailing with him will bring him good luck!”
The 2.4mR sailing class features 2.4mR boats which are single-handed keelboats that are 1/5 the size of the America’s Cup boats. The size of the boat allows sailors of all ages and abilities to sit in the middle of the boat with all instruments for control and navigation within arm’s reach.
The Paralympics – Olympic-style games for athletes with a disability — were organized for the first time in Rome in 1960. Today, the Paralympic Games is an elite sporting event for athletes from six different disability groups. These games, however, emphasize the participants’ athletic achievements rather than their disability. The Paralympics, this year 6-17 September, follow the Olympics and use the same venues.
In preparation for the Paralympics, Mr Delikouras will be taking part in the Athens Eurolymp Week, 17-22 February. This is the first time that the 2.4mR sailing class will be a part of the Eurolymp Week. This is the first of Mr Delikouras’s preparatory regattas. Others will take place in Italy, Sweden, and Portugal.