Chris Weis, with his experienced team of Noah Barrengos, Haydon Stapleton and Caleb Paine, won the 2024 US Match Racing Championships Qualifier held at the St. Francis YC. In the extremely competitive qualifier, Weiss just edged out Nicole Breault and her team of Blake Oberbauer, Russ Silvestri and Will Paulsen in a tiebreaker, earning him a coveted invitation to the US Match Racing Championship being held at the St. Francis in October. This weekend’s regatta was held in the Club’s matched fleet of J/22s and featured rather sporty conditions, challenging both competitors and the mark set team, as winds each day started in the mid-teens and built to the mid-20s. Halfway through Saturday’s first round robin, when winds reached 20 kt, the Race Committee called for a non-spinnaker and an hour later called off racing for the day when winds exceeded 24 kts. Sunday’s conditions were similar, with the event finishing early when winds built to 24 kts and gusts hit 27 kts. After completing just 11 of the scheduled 14 flights, Weis and Breault each had 6 points, and Weis prevailed on the count-back. According to Regatta Chair Bruce Stone, “This was an Open event, with male and female skippers and crew. Match racing has grown significantly, and each of the 7 qualifiers around the country has been fully subscribed. In our case, we were pleased to attract teams from up and down the West Coast including Vancouver. Chris has won several important events at the St. Francis, and we’re looking forward to seeing him here at the Championship.” Full J/22 Match Racing results link: https://www.matchracingresults.com/2024/