&lt;a href="Sailing"&gt;Sailing/Yachting&lt;/a&gt; is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad (1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece). With the exception of 1904 and possibly the cancelled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule. The Sailing program of 2008 consisted of a total of nine sailing classes (eleven disciplines). Eleven races are scheduled for each event except for the 49er class, for which 16 races are scheduled from 9 August 2008 to 21 August 2008 of the coast of the Qingdao International Sailing Centre facing the Yellow Sea. Of the 11 (16) races, 10 (15) are scheduled as opening races and one as a medal race. The sailing was done on four different types of courses.