On 19 June, Poland officially became the 12th nation to
launch an eSailing National Championship, organised by World Sailing and
Virtual Regatta.
Thanks to this, Polish players will be able to participate in the eSailing World
Championship qualifiers as well as the Polish eSailing National Championship, and
get the chance to fight for the finals in both. The ranking will be held in
Virtual Regatta Inshore game, which is available to users for free, on all
mobile devices, phones, tablets, and computers (on Android, IOS, Windows). The
only requirement is registration in the app, providing basic data and
nationality.
The Polish Yachting Association and associated partners will organise the regional competition. Virtual sailors from Poland can take part in the series through to August. In September, the best competitors will race in the Polish Championship qualifiers, followed by a Finals regatta that will be broadcast live on the internet.
“The eSailing project is very attractive because it promotes our sport, not only through entertainment but also via education at a sports level,” commented Tomasz Chamera, President of the Polish Yachting Association. “It gives the additional potential for development in the Polish Yachting Association. We want to take this opportunity as it creates new possibilities. The global focus on this form of competition and eSports is growing. World Sailing and other national sailing associations are developing eSailing and we go with the times.”
Maciej Szafran from the PYA Popularization and Development Department said, “This is the first organizational success of the Polish Yachting Association eSailing Committee. This sees cooperation between the PYA, World Sailing and Virtual Regatta. It’s a big step in our development. As always, we are open to new challenges in the future.”
PYA’s eSailing Committee members and roles:
Jarosław Bazylko – amateur sailing, administrative support of the project;
Paweł Kowalski – sport sailing, Polish National Team manager, organizational support for local regatta organizers
Jacek Pietraszkiewicz – technological and administrative support of the project;
Patryk Romanowski – Committee chairman, contact with Regional Yachting Associations, organizational support for local regatta organizers;
Maciej Szafran – project administration, marketing, project communication, organization of the Polish Championships, contact with World Sailing, Virtual Regatta, EUROSAF.