Sailing
At previous Olympic Games, sailing has taken place miles away from the host city. In 2000, the event will take place in Sydney Harbour with the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in the background.

Nine different classes of boats will be sailed in Sydney. They include the 49er, 470, Europe, Finn, Laser, Mistral, Soling, Star and Tornado. There are ll events for men, women and mixed crews. Mistrals are the only boats allowed to touch a buoy without penalty.

Races are either fleet or match. In fleet racing the first to cross the line with the bow of the boat wins. In fleet, all of the boats race against each other at the same time. In match racing, which is only for the Soling class, two boats compete one-on one.

Weight counts in clothes and equipment for sailing. The limit is eight kilograms. Flotation devices - appropriate to each race - are also required.

Taking the wrong tack can have sailers going in circles. That's what they're required to do in order to avoid disqualification for a right-of-way violation. In some races only one circle is required while two is necessary in others.