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wThursday, December 22, 2005 | |
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PWA World Tour 2005 End of Year Roundup The year 2005 has been as another full blown action packed season for the PWA World Tour. Apart from hosting the hottest windsurfing events around the world, the PWA has taken some important steps for the future of the sport, securing major events for years to come and further expanding the tour calendar for next year. Kickoff Indoor Style In January the tour got underway urban style as the PWA hit the streets of London for the Schroeder’s London Boat Show. Over 9,000 spectators watched in awe as the world’s finest windsurfers ripped up the 70m long pool, taking indoor windsurfing to the next level in slalom, freestyle and of course the infamous jumping discipline. In the ladies competition the Moreno’s (Mistral/ North Sails) dictated the show, with Daida winning both the slalom and freestyle competition and Iballa outgunning her sister with huge forwards and tabletops. Overall, Ricardo Campello and Daida Moreno left London with another event trophy to add to their long and distinguished list. The London Boat Show is set to return on the PWA tour calendar again for 2006, with possibly more indoor events on the menu as well. Super X: speed, jumps and pile-ups For the first time in Super X, the women were to charge the obstacle course as well on Lanzarote. While it took some getting used to for most of them, all of the girls were clearly having a blast with the jumps, forward loops and duck jibes. For the best part of the contest it looked like Japanese newcomer Junko Nagoshi (J-11) would be the first women Super X world champion, but Nagoshi shot herself in the foot at the very last jump of the very last final. The Japanese couldn’t clear the final jump and had to watch Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) jump right past her to snatch away the title from her grasp. Nagoshi ended in second place, Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails) had to settle for third place, something she is not quite accustomed to. Freestyle Freestyle has really hit another dimension this year. At every contest the freestyle elite punched out never seen before moves that are virtually impossible to understand without recording them and playing them back in slow motion over and over again. From the dead flat tropical waters of Bonaire to the gale force bump and jump arena of Pozo, the competition was tighter than ever and reigning world champion Ricardo Campello (V-111, JP/ Neil Pryde) would have to give his all to pull it off again for another year. The freestyle tour kicked off in May on the turquoise waters of Bonaire. Although lack of wind caused by an unusually early hurricane prevented the fleet from completing the contest, the world got a glimpse of what the PWA men and women had been working on over the winter break; sheer freestyle insanity, with new moves lesser gods could not even imagine, let alone pull off. Next stop, Pozo Izquierdo, Gran Canaria, where the flat waters of the Caribbean had to make way for the choppy waves of the tour’s windiest location. In the women’s freestyle competition Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails) was playing a home game at Pozo and it showed as she wiped out the competition in every elimination. Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) and Iballa Moreno (E-63, Mistral/ North Sails) were to only ones able to keep up, but both girls couldn’t beat Daida at her own game in the finals. And so it was Daida Moreno who took the lead in the freestyle tournament, followed by Karin Jaggi and Iballa Moreno (E-63, Mistral/ North Sails) as the tour moved on to the neighboring island of Lanzarote for the year’s freestyle finals. The moderate winds of Lanzarote provided a welcome break from Pozo’s howling 45 knot storms, with still more than sufficient conditions for the final freestyle contest of the 2005 season. In the women’s freestyle competition one girl sent shockwaves through the rankings; fourteen year old Sarah-Quita Offringa (ARU-91, Starboard) astounded competitors and spectators alike with major league freestyle moves such as clew first punetas and esliders. In the double elimination of the first round, not even Iballa Moreno could stop the Rasta girl from Aruba, as Offringa progressed up in to the semifinal, where she was knocked out by Karin Jaggi. Offringa walked away with an amazing third place in her first ever PWA event and it will definitely not be her last. Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails) won the event and the 2005 overall freestyle title before Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) who got second in the event and in the overall rankings and Silvia Alba (E-67, Tabou/ Gaastra). Alba finished joined third with Offringa in Lanzarote and in doing so, securing her third place in the overall freestyle rankings. Waves The crown discipline started off in March at its spiritual home of Hookipa Beach Park, Maui. The women fought a battle of their own in which world tour stars were up against local heroes. Even in the Maui sailors’ own backyard, it was the Moreno Twins that ruled both the single and double elimination final. Although Iballa gave Daida a serious run for her money, the reigning wave world champion opened the season with an important victory. Not so much in points maybe, but the more in prestige by winning at the world’s most famous windsurfing beach. Jennifer Henderson (US-7, Starboard) used her local knowledge to sail into third place. First contest of the remaining two was Pozo, Gran Canaria. Dreaded by Hawaiian style starboard tack riders and favored by high wind port tack riders, Pozo Izquierdo promised to be an interesting arena for the next clash of the titans. Throughout the contest, the PWA stars were throwing the sickest double forwards as if there was no tomorrow, lean and clean. In the women’s wave department, all eyes were on Daida and Iballa Moreno. The twin superstars are arguably Pozo’s best known export product and were determined to prove their worth. This is exactly what they did by facing each other in the single elimination final. Daida had the upper hand with some massive jumps, leaving Iballa with the silver medal. Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) was in big form in Pozo, which was rewarded with third place in the single. While the winds continued to howl the next days, the waves didn’t come through as they can in Pozo, leaving both the men’s and women’s double elimination stranded in the semifinals. The women’s rankings remained unchanged with Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails) in first, Iballa Moreno (E-63, Mistral/ North Sails) in second and Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) in third place. After a brief break for refueling and training, the last stop on the PWA wave calendar was Sylt, Germany where the battle for worldwide wave recognition would be fought out once and for all. While the forecast upon arrival indicated conditions of biblical proportions later during the event, in reality the wave sailors had to make due with mediocre conditions at some ungodly hours. Twice, the fleet was summoned to the beach at 0700. Once the early wakeup call paid off, the second time it was all for nothing. Meanwhile in the women’s competition, in the afternoon session the elimination had progressed rapidly to the quarter finals featuring Annemarie Reichman (H-98, Naish/ Naish) vs Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2), Uli Hoelzl (AUT-123, F2/ Neil Pryde) vs Iballa Moreno (E-63, Mistral/ North Sails), Junko Nagoshi (J-11) vs Nayra Alonso (E-4, Fanatic/ Severne) and Silvia Alba (E-67, Tabou/ Gaastra) vs Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails). The wave contest was to continue two days later, in another daybreak session, but unfortunately the wind direction and unfavorable tide messed things up. After trying to run the wave contest several times throughout the morning, the decision was finally made to cancel as wave conditions were simply too unreliable. With no forecast for good wind conditions for the remainder of the event, this meant an untimely end to the Sylt wave contest. In the women’s division it was another bullet for Daida Moreno (E-64, Mistral/ North Sails), nailing her sixth wave world title, before her sister Iballa Moreno (E-63, Mistral/ North Sails) and Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) in third place. Slalom 42 In 2005 the PWA introduced a brand new racing format, Slalom 42. The format has been especially designed to bring the action as close to the spectators as possible. Racers get to register two boards and four sails max. First event on the Slalom 42 tour this year was Sotavento, Fuerteventura where the world’s greatest racers gathered jockeying for position in the rankings. In the women’s racing things were equally tied. Speed and racing queen Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) had her hands full with Valerie Ghibaudo (FRA-444), both ladies bringing in most rounds of the pack. Jaggi scored five victorious finals, Ghibaudo three. Jaggi was not in the clear however until the very last final, which she impressively won and thereby showing once and for all who’s the master of the slalom course. As there would be no more racing for the women this year, Karin Jaggi (Z-14, F2) added another world title to her impressive track record. The 2006 tour kicks off in January at the London Boat Show. pwaworldtour.com posted by editors at 11:17 PM |
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wMonday, December 05, 2005 | |
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The Poncha Story Damsel Wear Poncha’s Inc. has created the Poncha, It is a change room you can take and use anywhere. Started in 2002 by two west coast women Damsel Wear Poncha’s Inc. wanted to make changing at the beach easier for water sports enthusiasts. No more snickering on lookers as you struggle with holding on to your towel. While drying off or changing, your hands are free to pull off or put on the wetsuit or bathing suit. Equipped with a double-layered hood The Poncha makes changing dryer, warmer, and faster. Using the Poncha will guarantee privacy and save embarrassment. Choose from a warm and luxurious 94% cotton terry. Or a super sleek knitted suede that dries in a snap and is made of 100% polyester. Both fabrics come in a variety of colours. At first, I was amazed that The Poncha really did keep me covered and cut a lot of the time it takes to change. However, when I realized how long I had been doing it the old way (towel dancing), I as furious someone had not in vented The Poncha sooner. Contact information: Melanie Swanton melanie-damselwear@primus.ca Visit our site to find stores available in and Email us. www.damselwear.com 1-8666-DAMSEL posted by editors at 11:28 PM |
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