Congratulations to the Champions and runners-up in the State Championship regattas of the Zhik Australian eSailing National Challenge!

Following a big weekend of virtual regattas the line-up for the National Challenge has now been set with the following e-sailors ready to battle it out at the Nationals this Thursday at 7pm AEST:

• ACT - Joseph Hogbin-Bourne (Canberra Yacht Club)
• ACT - Sam Bylett (Canberra Yacht Club)
• NSW - Jack Ferguson (Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron)
• NSW - Zac Skulander (Middle Harbour Amateur Sailing Club)
• NT - Kieren Schortz (Darwin Sailing Club)
• NT - Matthew Dix (Darwin Sailing Club)
• QLD - Quentin Palmer (Brisbane 18 Footers Sailing Club)
• QLD - Liam Millar (Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron)
• SA - Ben Hinks (Brighton & Seacliff Yacht Club)
• SA - Luke Hookings (Adelaide Sailing Club)
• TAS - Will Sargent (Derwent Sailing Squadron Inc)
• TAS - Troy Graftons (Bellerive Yacht Club)
• VIC - Matt Blakey (Port Melbourne Yacht Club)
• VIC - Josh Griffith (Sandringham Yacht Club)
• WA - Pol Rafart (Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club)
• WA - Jason Poustma (Fremantle Sailing Club)

The winner of the Zhik Australian eSailing National Challenge will receive a $500 Zhik gift voucher for themselves as well as a $500 Zhik gift voucher for their home club. The top six finishers will also be selected to represent Australia against the top six Kiwi eSailors in a virtual showdown that will take place on the weekend of 5-7 June. 

Australian Sailing caught up with e-sailing State Champions of Tasmania and Victoria after their wins:

WILL SARGENT – TASMANIA e-SAILING STATE WINNER (pictured above):
    
-How did you get in to Virtual Sailing?  Just play it for some banter with the guys and girls I sail with
 

-What type of boat do you normally sail? Laser full rig, Match Racing and Keel boats

-What is your favourite boat to race on Virtual Regatta and why? J70 because it is just like the boats I sail in real life. 
 

-How does it feel to be the winner of your state? Was stoked to win but it was really cool for some of the younger kids to get to race against some of the older sailors in the state. 

-How do you feel going up against the other state winners on Thursday? Should be good fun and can hopefully provide some entertainment for the live stream crowd. 

-Are you going to be doing any training/preparation? Not any training for virtual sailing but currently doing a lot of fitness training when real life competitions kick start again.

MATT BLAKEY – VICTORIA e-SAILING STATE WINNER (pictured above):
         
-How did you get in to Virtual Sailing? Some friends and I were playing the offshore game while at a regatta and saw there was an inshore version so we downloaded it on our phones and started playing

-What type of boat do you normally sail? Laser

-What is your favourite boat to race on Virtual Regatta and why? 49er, it's fast and tactical. There are options to sail lower and faster. It's a sexier boat.

-How does it feel to be the winner of your state?  It's a relief. I'm sure it will feel much better to be the winner of the nationals!

-How do you feel going up against the other state winners on Thursday?  It'll be fun. My friend Zac qualified for NSW and I have raced Jack and Liam quite a few times before also.

-Are you going to be doing any training/preparation?  I have a 9 month old at home that does soak up a lot of my time so hopefully she'll get some sleep and let me get a few practice races in.

Australian Sailing would like to thank our partners at Zhik for their support of the Zhik Australian eSailing National Challenge and for their ongoing support of sailing in Australia.

Tune in to the National Challenge Final on the Australian Sailing Facebook page at 7pm AEST this Thursday 28 May to cheer on your state champions!