Zander Kirkland killed two birds with one stone, so to speak, at the recent Laser national championships.

Not only did he wrest the title but, more importantly, he qualified for his first Pan American Games; snapping up Bermuda's lone berth in that boat's class.

While pleased and relieved to have earned his passage to the Dominican Republic, the young sailor is keenly aware there is much hard work ahead.

His agenda between now and the Games in late July will be quite hectic. First, he must complete this semester at Tufts University in Boston. In mid-May, he heads home to work and train before going to Europe for more training and competition in mid-June.

"I'm going to some regattas in Denmark and Germany. I'm going to do Scandinavian Race Week and then a big Olympic Class regatta called Keil (Week) in Germany. Then there's another regatta in Denmark.

"I'll be mostly in northern Europe because that's the hub of Laser sailing," he explained, adding that he will make another stop at home before taking on his Pan Am assignment.

Contemplating how he will fare against the region's best in that event, he said: "Oh I don't know. There are going to be a lot of good guys there and I'm really young. I'm not looking for an amazing result, I'm just looking to see what it's like. It's good practice because you get to sail against the best Laser sailors in the Americas.

"The world champion right now is a Brazilian and he'll be there so I'll get to sail alongside a six-time world champion for a week. That's pretty cool."

Kirkland earned the right to compete in the Pan Am Games based on his combined performances at the nationals and a regatta in Florida in February. All Bermudians vying for the one spot had to compete at both those events and the person who topped the cumulative standings was chosen.

"Only one boat can go," explained the 20-year-old who will carry Bermuda's hopes in the Laser Class.

As it turned out, Kirkland led his compatriots in both regattas. At the nationals - held March 22 and 23 in the Great Sound - Malcolm Smith placed second but he was not competing for the Laser berth in the Pan-Am Games. He is already entered in the Games in the Sunfish category; his speciality. However, Brett Wright and Ben Wicks - who were Kirkland's main rivals for the Laser slot at the Games - finished third and fourth respectively at nationals.

Kirkland won five of the seven races at nationals but his quest began with a mishap when a broken hiking strap prevented his participation in the first race.

"I rushed down to Spanish Point and switched one (strap) while they were racing and I got out for the second race. I got second (place) in that. Malcolm Smith beat me.

"I was actually winning that race and I had a pretty good lead but I capsized near the end because it was really windy. He (Smith) passed me after I flipped but I righted it and still got second so I was happy," recalled the national champion who went on to win the other two races on the Saturday and all three of Sunday's races.

"After the first two races I was a bit more careful. I was like 'I've got to qualify here. I can't mess around'. So I got down to it. I had really good speed, especially downwind, and I was sailing smart."

Kirkland, who topped the standings with seven points (one drop) from six races, is thrilled with the improvements he has been making which he attributes to his environment.

"I think college is really helping my sailing because we race so much. My tactics are getting sharper and I'm getting a better feel for the breeze and just making decisions better."

He will be hoping to continue in this vein given his next major quest is to try and qualify for next year's Olympics. Depending on how that campaign goes, he may even take a break from his studies and sail full-time next spring.