Competition was the toughest in the.  " open" division where three world championship teams graced the event.  Tony Stearns and Janet Mculough fllew in from Saipan, and Tong Shing and Evergreen Lee arrived from  in from Hong Kong for the competition packed weekend,  The open division is designed to provide local sailors with a chance to gauge their performance versus the world's  best.  The PalmOne National Championship provides a good venue for international sailors to sample both the local competition as visit the philippines at the best time of the year for sailing.  

The Naional championship is the annual series designed to  draw the best sailing talents in the country to compete against each other for the title of "national champion".  The "national" division, which used to be open to all residents, was changed last year, to allow only Philippine passport holders as participants in this division.  Although the largest international events merely require "residence" in a country,the SEAGames requires nationality.   
It is felt that since hobie sailing could very possibly wind up as a SEA Games sport, an emphasis should be placed on encouraging competitors who would be eligible to participate in the 2005 SEA Games which will be hosted by the Philippines.    
It was but fitting to see that the second largest group of entrants in the championships was the "natonals" division, in which Both skipper and crew are Philippine passport holders.   
The change is indicative of a very strong   trend in local sailing, which demonstrates the popularity of the sport among local middle and upper income groups.  
This desirable trend manifested itself even in the competitors that did not qualify for "nationals" status.  It should be pointed out that excluding the teams that flew in for the event, almost every team had at least one filipino aboard, either as skipper, or crew.  

The Hobie 16 is a surprisingly versatile boat that appeals to all age groups. The "masters" division  is open to competitors 45 and above. 

The "B-fleet" division is a category open to new sailors and enables them to experience the competition at a well organized 2 day event. 

This year's event was composed of 10 races. The scores of all participants were tallied for all races, for the total score. 

Click on  
www.tlyc.com/hobie/honat04res.html for the final results. 

For information about palm products in the philippines, sales or service outlets, contact: 
bernard domingo 
bernard@microwarehouse.com.ph 
winston chiu winston@microwarehouse.com.ph