MORE than 20 organisations have joined forces in Dorset to orchestrate the smooth running of the Sailing competition and associated events for the London 2012 Games.

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been described in organisation and resource terms as ‘the largest single project undertaken in the UK for over 70 years’.

A series of working groups in the county, collectively known as the Weymouth and Portland 2012 Operations Group, have the responsibilities of transport, visitors, culture, health and safety, communications, safety and security and volunteering.

Key contacts for each of the groups will be bringing insight to their activities through a weekly column in the Dorset Echo. Here’s John Tweed, chief executive of the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

WE ARE into an extremely busy event period at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) the atmosphere is electric.

The variety of people flooding through our doors is amazing, just last week we had the Artemis Offshore Academy training, children learning how to canoe with PGL and a constant flow of elite sailors training.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend we had 600 marine enthusiasts on site.

The J109 National Championships brought some of the UK’s leading big boat racers to the Academy. The youth contingent was also out in force with the Topper National Series running alongside the third Cadet Indicator.

This month starts with the high profile Sail for Gold event from June 5-11, which is also the sixth leg of the ISAF World Cup, attracting the world’s top sailors and windsurfers.

The Laser dinghies then head to the WPNSA for the Laser Performance World Open Regatta on June 18-19 for starter sailors to professionals in seven different dinghy models.

The award winning disabled facilities at the Academy will be put to excellent use when the International Federation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) hosts their World Cup from July 1-8.

This features as the most prestigious event in the disabled sailing calendar outside of the Paralympic Games that will also be at the WPNSA.

A more traditional class, dubbed as the world’s most popular single handed trapeze sailing dinghy, takes over the venue towards the end of July, the Contender World Championships running from 17-22. The Test Games then fall from the July 31 to August 13, where only one competitor per class from each nation is eligible to enter.

The latter half of August takes on a lighter note as the RS All Classes Regatta brings a fun angle to the Academy with four different types of RS classes racing over a period of just under two weeks from August 15 to 26. Sailors from all walks of life will experience a range of different race courses as they enjoy friendly competition.

September starts with the Laser National Championships from August 27 to September 2 followed by the International 14 World Championships September 3-18.

Incredibly this skiff style of boat dates back to the late 1800s but is constantly revamped to thrill the latest racing generation.

The WPNSA runs a membership programme available to the public where they can use our award winning facilities as their local sailing club and race on the 2012 waters, find out more at www.wpnsa.org.uk