As part of their continuing support to bring major sailing competition to your front room, sports satellite channels, SKY Sports 2 and SKY Sports 3, will show a round up of all the action from the finals of the 2000 Chernikeeff RYA National Match Racing series with a devoted 23-minute programme later this month.

The five-day event held in London’s Docklands, in the wind shadow of the Millennium Dome, was the first serious regatta following the dramatic home coming of the sailing members of Team GB from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It was the culmination of a year of regional qualifiers where more than 50 teams were distilled to just 16 finalists.

The dedicated slot, produced by sailing television specialists APP Broadcast, provides a compelling insight into what double Olympian Andy Beadsworth had to do to protect his title from several young understudies, including his Soling middleman Richard Sydenham who was aided by Olympic Tornado sailors Hugh Styles and Adam May.

Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson MBE and youth world match racing champion Mark Campbell-James were also part of a gripping story of young pretenders challenging the old guard for a place in British match racing history.

With onboard cameras and sound taking the viewer into the heart of the action and into some of the most intimate moments with the crews as they pull off the good moves and suffer the bad, match racing makes dramatic television – it’s one-on-one knockout racing where the winner moves on to the next round and the loser goes home.

With race commentary from Richard Simmonds and Shirley Robertson, this is a sailing contest that everybody can understand.

Broadcast timetable

• January 18 – 2030hrs – SKY Sports 3

• January 19 – 1100hrs – SKY Sports 2 (repeat)

• February 8 – 1130hrs – SKY Sports 2 (repeat)

• February 14 – 1900hrs – SKY Sports 3 (repeat)