Yachting Championship on Lake Balkhash

Yacht Racing World Championship will bring more than 60 boats to Balkhash, Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports. The competition will take place from June 14 to 25 on Lake Balkhash. Many sportsmen from CIS countries and Europe are coming to Balkhash, one of the organizers of the competition, a well-known Kazakhstan ecologist Mels Eleusizov, said. In addition, the organizers are hopeful to attract tourists to the region. “Balkhash in a great place for development of tourism. If the necessary facilities are built, it can be as good as foreign resorts,” Eleusizov said. The championship is organized by Marins International Water Sports Association. The competition is divided into several stages that are judged separately, Aleksey Pyankov of the international association explained. The team with the highest overall score wins the championship. The sportsmen are divided into categories depending on the size of their boats and crews. Along with CIS sportsmen the competition is to bring teams from the Baltics, Czech Republic and Germany. “Kazakhstani sailing teams have not participated in world championships before. But as a person who has sailed with Kazakhstani crews I consider them to be ready. Kazakhstan has skilful teams that have good chances to win,” Pyankov said. The organizers promise a spectacular competition on Lake Balkhash where wind can get to 20-25 meter per second and waves go as high as 2 meters. “It is a serious challenge for sportsmen and an opportunity to challenge their boats and themselves. In addition to the yacht racing on Balkhash, there will be an annual Ili-Balkhash sailing race. The sportsmen will start from the Kazakhstan-Chinese boarder and have one month to reach Balkhash running down the Ili river. By Vladimir Prokopenko