The Qingdao Organizing Committee and the British Organizing Committee of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race officially announced the shortlist of the new season's "Qingdao" ambassador crew, who will represent the "sailing capital" Qingdao in the upcoming 2023-24 Clipper Round the World Sailing Race. Qingdao is the host port and team partner with the longest cooperation period for the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race. The 2023-24 season, which starts at the end of this summer, will be the ninth consecutive appearance of Qingdao, the "Sailing City", on the international stage of the Clipper Sailing Race as the host port and team named city.
青岛组委会与克利伯环球帆船赛英方组委会于今日正式公布了新赛季“青岛号”大使船员的入围名单，这些选手将代表“帆船之都”青岛参加即将到来的2023-24克利伯环球帆船赛。青岛是克利伯环球帆船赛合作周期最为长久的主办港和赛队合作伙伴，今年夏末开赛的2023-24赛季将是“帆船之都”青岛连续第九次以主办港和赛队冠名城市身份亮相克利伯帆船赛的国际舞台。
The shortlist for the crew members of the Qingdao Ambassador includes Bu Xuan, Tian Feng, Wang Ziqi, Li Jiaxin, Zhou Dongning, Song Xiaowen, Shi Jianglong, Huang Yuxin, Shao Xue, and Chen Lu.
Like other crew members of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race, the selected individuals are both male and female, with varying sailing experiences and backgrounds, including banking professionals, journalists, and freelancers.
克利伯风险投资公司总经理劳拉·艾尔丝说到：“时隔多年，能够再次宣布‘青岛号’大使船员参加新赛季的环球航海比赛，真是太棒了！成功入选的这些船员不仅有机会成为远洋航海选手，而且能够代表‘帆船之都’青岛进行全球推广宣传。自从双方开启首届赛事合作以来，大使船员项目已经培育出了70余名中国航海选手，其中有很多人现在已经成为了职业航海人或是从事帆船领域相关工作。”“毫无疑问，大使船员候选人员的质量一届比一届高，这不仅证明了青岛作为‘帆船之都’这些年发展取得的成功和帆船运动的良好传承，也彰显了青岛作为‘体育中心城市’的实力。”
另外，根据克利伯英方组委会最新消息，近日，格雷格·亨特（Greg Hunt）已被正式任命为克利伯2023-24帆船赛“青岛号”赛队船长。
Laura Els, General Manager of Clipper Venture Capital, said, "After many years, it's great to announce once again that the ambassador crew of the 'Qingdao' will participate in the new season of the global sailing competition! The successfully selected crew members not only have the opportunity to become ocean going sailors, but also represent the 'sailing capital' Qingdao for global promotion and publicity. Since the first competition cooperation between the two sides, the ambassador crew project has cultivated more than 70 Chinese sailors, many of whom have now become professional sailors or engaged in related work in the sailing industry."
"Undoubtedly, the quality of the ambassador crew candidates has been increasing year by year, which not only proves the success of Qingdao's development as the 'sailing capital' and the good inheritance of sailing sports in recent years, but also demonstrates Qingdao's strength as a 'sports center city'."
In addition, according to the latest news from the Clipper UK organizing committee, Greg Hunt has been officially appointed as the captain of the Clipper 2023-24 sailing race "Qingdao" team.
据悉，格雷格船长现年35岁，来自南非，在今年夏末英国起航的新赛季克利伯环球帆船赛中，他将率领包括近期刚刚成功选拔出的“青岛号”大使船员在内的一支国际船员队伍驾乘70英尺大帆船出海远征。
It is reported that Captain Greg, who is 35 years old and from South Africa, will lead an international crew, including the recently selected ambassador crew of the "Qingdao", to embark on a 70 foot sailing expedition in the new season of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race set sail in the UK at the end of this summer.
对于被任命为“青岛号”船长，格雷格说：“能够作为‘青岛号’船长，代表克利伯环球帆船赛最为长久的合作伙伴青岛参加新赛季环球比赛，我感到非常骄傲。青岛是著名的‘帆船之都’，有着非常深厚的帆船积淀和赛事传承，能够被任命为‘青岛号’船长，我感到很激动！”同时，他也表示，期待尽快与成功入选的“青岛号”大使船员见面并开始培训工作，相信新力量的加入将使团队充满正能量。谈到本赛季目标，格雷格船长充满信心，希望在新赛季中率队卫冕总冠军。
The selected ambassador crew members will travel to the UK headquarters of the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race in the coming weeks to begin four stages of pre race systematic training, which is also a mandatory requirement for every crew member participating in the Clipper Round the World Sailing Race. (Source: Sailing Capital Qingdao)
