Hong Kong's top sailors will use next week's Hong Kong Open Windsurfing Championships as the final tune-up for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
Sponsored by FedEx this year, the annual competition is scheduled to take place from next Wednesday until October 31 off Tung Wan, Cheung Chau. It will be held alongside the RS:X Asian Championships.
There are five major classes at next week's competition - RS:X men and women, International Mistral Class Organisation (IMCO) men's heavy and lightweight, as well as IMCO women.
RS:X will replace the traditional Mistral class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
With the Asian Games due to be held in December, Hong Kong's windsurfers, including Ho Chi-ho, Vicky Chan Wai-kei and Chan King-yin, will only compete in the Mistral class of the Hong Kong Open.
However, windsurfers from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea and Thailand are expected to battle for top honours in the RS:X Asian Championships to improve their rankings and book a place in the Beijing Olympics.