New Zealand's top sailors are tonight competing in a virtual sailing event streamed live on Facebook.
Two teams of eight will compete in four different races. All sixteen sailors must compete in each category and the sailor with the lowest series score (i.e. the best results) will be crowned the winner.
The Real Rockstar team includes Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Phil Robertson, Alex Maloney, Sam Meech, Leonard Takahashi, Chris Steele and Matt Steven – all of whom have had incredible experience and success in the 'real' sailing world and are all poised to enter the competitive world of eSailing.
"You're going to see our sports 'Real Rockstars' going up against some of our best eSailors the 'Virtual Rockstars'", said Hayden Porter, CEO of RNZYS. "We hope New Zealanders will get behind the event and cheer on their favourite sailors, in a virtual sense, engaging and making comments on Facebook to create a new piece of sporting history. During lockdown, the RNZYS has turned into an e-Club and we have an entirely new way of sailing to add to our illustrious history as we near our 150th Anniversary in 2021."