World Sailing and Virtual Regatta, the leading digital sailing platform, have launched the eSailing Nations Cup, a nation versus nation knockout challenge to crown the best eSailing nation in the world.

World Sailing and Virtual Regatta, the leading digital sailing platform, have launched the eSailing Nations Cup, a nation versus nation knockout challenge to crown the best eSailing nation in the world.

Open to nations who have registered for an eSailing National Championship, the eSailing Nations Cup will see national teams of ten participate in mass fleet races and then an initial knockout round before advancing to Quarter and Semi-Finals. The top two teams will meet in a live streamed Final on 6 November 2020, with the winning team crowned the eSailing Nations Cup Champion and recognised as the best eSailing country in the world.

Scott Over, World Sailing’s Commercial Director commented, “The eSailing Nations Cup is part of our continued effort to develop international eSailing competition and showcase the best talent our member nations have to offer.

“In the last few months it has been amazing to see the growth in the community, with eSailing becoming an integral part of World Sailing’s strategy. The Nations Cup is another way we can continue this engagement and we’re really proud of the relationship we’ve built with Virtual Regatta and their commitment to the sport.”

On the launch of the Nations Cup, Alistair Dickson, Director of Sport Development at the Royal Yachting Association, said, “As a nation that’s invested lots of time and resource into eSailing and seen some dramatic expansion over the last year, we very much welcome the introduction of the eSailing Nations Cup and seeing how we go against other nations.

“Our British eSailing National Championships has seen growth of around eight times this year compared to 2019, which is hugely exciting and demonstrates the potential of eSailing more generally. We can now build on the work we have done initiating British club and class championships, as well as our eSailing National Championships to select the best representatives for our team to compete in the eSailing Nations Cup later in the year.”

Starting in late September 2020, Nations who are registered to run an eSailing National Championship are eligible to enter a team.

Qualifying for a national spot is already underway and nations will be on the lookout to select the best team to enter to represent their country. Teams must meet strict criteria and must feature world standard professional or Olympic sailors, high ranked eSailors in the eSailing National Championship, and National Club representatives.

Swiss Sailing President, Martin Vogler, added, “We’re already excited to have huge participation in our eSailing National Championship in Switzerland, and we’re in our second year of hosting this so our player base is now well established. I already have in mind a few of our highest ranked eSailors who might be eligible for one of the team spots. The competition will be fierce, and we will embrace the challenge to select the best team to compete on the world stage. We’re looking forward to the launch and to be involved in this new competition.”

Format explained

The eSailing Nations Cup will commence with Fleet Regattas, determining the seeding for the first round. Following this, Nation v Nation regattas will be held. Each knockout round will consist of 10 races, with a tie break if points are equal.

The winners of each Regatta in the first round will progress to the Quarter Final for the next round of knockouts. The Semi Final will be between the top four Nations from the rounds and will determine the two Nations that will go head to head in the Final on 6 November (time TBC).

The winner will earn a free eSailing National Championship for 2021 and a venue development of their choice. More prizes will be announced at a later date.

A low point scoring system for each round will be used and points are cumulative across all eSailors.

The diagram below is for illustrative purposes, the exact format will be determined at a later date once the team entries are confirmed. Please refer to the notice of race here [updated 7 October].

How to get involved

More than 70,000 eSailors are taking part in the 2020 eSailing World Championship, with an estimated 450,000 races to be completed at the end of the season.

If you would like your nation to host an eSailing National Championship and enter the eSailing Nations Cup, please contact World Sailing at esailing@sailing.org for more information.

How to play

The game can be played on desktop and via iOS and Android devices by following the links below:
Desktop – https://www.virtualregatta.com/en/index_vrinshore.php
iOS – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/virtual-regatta-inshore/id1182301199?mt=8
Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.virtualregatta.inshore&hl=en

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