Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico - A staple of the Olympic games, Laser class sailing, has been officially added to the 2012 Regata Copa Mexico Olympic Edition competitions and will be hosted by the Vallarta Yacht Club from March 16th-18th.

Although Laser wasn't officially part of the previous edition of the Regata Copa México, races were held in parallel to the children's Optimist class competitions, as this class of sailing is part of Wesmex, which is held annually in Riviera Nayarit.

The Laser class was born from a conversation that took place in 1969 between Bruce Kirby and industrial designer Ian Bruce on the convenience of designing a sailing boat that could be transported on the roof of the car, unlike other classes like the Snipe, which require a trailer. The resulting boat, which is lightweight and designed for a single passenger, is simple and competitive, and was presented to the public at the New York Boat Show in 1971.

Today, Laser is the most popular among Olympic sailing classes as it represents an individual challenge on one-passenger boats – which doesn't mean that they're any slower.

This class was also part of the 2012 Challenge, where Mexico's greatest Laser class competitor, Tania Elias Calles, sailed solo from Los Cabos to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. And now she'll be competing in the Olympic Edition of the Regatta Copa Mexico as she continues to prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

Recommendations to the Public:

Because the races take place in open water, these are the suggested times for the public to come and enjoy the experience from the public jetty at Nuevo Vallarta's South Beach entrance:

• Sailboat departures: 11 am – 12 noon
• Sailboat arrivals: 4–6:00 pm