The international Funboard Class Association wants to lower the minimum wind requirement for racing from 11 knots to 7 knots, in order to give event organizers certainty more races will be sailed and sailed on schedule.
We want to give our event organizers certainty that more races can be sailed, and sailed on schedule. This will make our sport more attractive to the media; they will send reporters and camera crews to report live about our events.
Increased media attention means that our sport is more attractive to potential sponsors. Better funding for events will also bring more competitors to our events.
We do not want to search for venues with just enough (7 knots) wind for organizing the IFCA Class Championships. We remain committed to our principles – we are the Funboard planing class with the motto “the more wind the better”.
In addition to the wind mimumum changes IFCA has also proposed to allow competitors to register 3 boards and 6 sails for an event up from 2 boards and 4 sails currently allowed.
The final decisions will be made until October 2013, so that manufacturers can adapt to the new rules and be ready for the 2014 season.
A week of hard racing wrapped up on July 7th at the Crocodiles de L’Elorn Club in Brest. Near 300 competitors had gathered up here hoping to bring the European title home.
The 2013 Défi Wind in Gruissan was one of the most successful editions since the launch of the event in 2001. After a day of tow-in freestyle 3 Days of strong wind kicked in for the 805 windsurfers on 1 starting line and 175 km of full speed racing. Check out the 22 minute video that try’s do do the Defi Wind justice but is a unique event, it can not be explained, it must be done, it must be lived.
The new season for the Bic Techno 293 is about to begin, full of new friends, and new challenges! The Techno 293 is easy to sail, durable, and affordable, bring many new people into the sport of windsurfing. Find out more in this video and then head over to Techno293.org.
Sean O’Brien the 6x Australian Formula Champion and Luke Baillie the 2012 RSX Australian Champion has joined forces to attack the 2013 PWA World Tour. We expecting some great updates from these guys throughout the season as the Cameras follow them as they travel and compete.
You can follow them on there website at Team-Aus.com.
The MIAMI PRO-AM 2013 is set for January 19 – 20 at the Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida, USA. The event is organized by WINDSURFINGTOUR.COM and SAILBOARDS MIAMI in co-operation with the International Formula Windsurfing Class (IFWC) and is an International Windsurfing Association sanctioned event.
The event is open to anyone wanting to attend, and has 6 classes; Formula, Open Formula, RS:X, Kona, Techno 293 and Open Long Board.
for questions email [email protected].
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN : http://www.miamiproam.com/online-entry/
The Jaguar NeilPryde Racing Series finished the year in style, at the Rio de Janeiro Extreme Sailing Series™ event. Sixty windsurfers from Brazil and France competed on the universal, one-design RS:One, an ISAF-approved class.
Windsurfing has been through ups and downs in recent years. End of the world predictions were almost truthful for Olympic windsurfing this year. There was a lot of discussions about why windsurfing should stay at the Olympics. Most probably the strongest argument in any discussion was the fact that BIC Techno 293 OD is the biggest windsurfing class in the world at the moment and future stars would be left without the future if windsurfing is not in RIO 2016.
After a long six month battle, Windsurfing has made it back as an Olympic Event for the 2016 Olympics.
The ISAF Annual General Meeting, in a simple majority vote, decided to delete Kiteboarding and re-instate Windsurfing, which has been in the Olympics since 1984 as a Mens Event, and since 1992 for Women.
Continue Reading →
The Jaguar NeilPryde Racing Series landed in Torbole, Lago di Garda last week for its first Italian stopover. Forty-three windsurfers from Italy and Hungary competed with the universal one-design RS:One, an ISAF-approved class. The 2011 PWA Freestyle World Champion, Steven van Broeckhoven, and the Hawaiian wave rider Tatiana Howard were also part of the guest list.
The RS:One Class features a new, attractive, and dynamic race format: one sail, one board. Everyone on the same equipment, allowing male and female racers of all ages to compete together.
Courses were set in front of the Torbole Circolo surf club, just meters from the crowd, providing a unique spectator experience and allowing for some exciting close-quarter competition on water.
Racing in four divisions – female, male under 22 years (Espoir), male over 22 years (Senior) and male over 40 years old (Master) – the event comprised of two days of races with thirteen qualification heats, two fiercely contested finals held in challenging conditions with fluctuating winds.
Being a one-design class, all RS:One equipment was supplied by NeilPryde, giving an equal chance to all competitors no matter sex or age. The winners of each division and overall Super Final winner shared the prize money of US$3,000.
The Jaguar NeilPryde Racing Series will continue its journey to Nice (France), and Rio (Brazil).
Saturday Results:
Female:
1- Ginevra Gabrielli
2- Diane Detre
3- Matilde Forlin
Men Espoir:
1- Jozef Masseroli
2- Michele Nogler
3-Jacopo Renna
Men Senior:
1- Andrea Ferin
2- Fabian Heidegger
3- Fabio Calo
Men Master:
1- Ezio Ferin
2- Alexander Leupold
3- Massimo Masserini
Sunday Results:
Female:
1- Diane Detre
2- Ginervra Gabrielli
3- Verena Fauster
Men Espoir:
1- Josef Masseroli
2- Michele Nogler
3- Filippo Facchin
Men Senior:
1- Andrea Ferin
2- Fancesco Prati
3- Michael Scalet
Men Master:
1- Ezio Ferin
2- Alexander Leupold
3- Alessandro Tomasi
Super Final winner:
1- Josef Masseroli
Photo Credit: Roberto Vuilleumier
Story Credit: Neilpryde.com
A recap of the recent Kona North American Windsurfing Championships. All POV and onboard footage captured by the Drift HD by Drift Innovation. Big thanks to Michael Fox and Fleet 8. And to the title Sponsor Lola’s Lakehouse.
The 2012 Bic Techno 293 World Championships have wrapped up on day 5, the numerous competitors had fun and raced fair! Present stars of Techno are future stars of windsurfing. Some of them won their first world title here in Medemblik.
Record breaking participation from all over the world with almost 350 competitors on BIC Techno 293 and another 100 in Raceboard class.
Racing starts today, check back as we bring you more of the action!
WEYMOUTH, England – If this truly was the end of windsurfing in the Olympics, it was definitely memorable.
Dorian Van Rijsselberge of the Netherlands exuberantly validated the men’s gold medal he had clinched days earlier, and Marina Alabau of Spain skimmed across the waves to win the women’s regatta Tuesday.
Windsurfing was removed from the lineup for the 2016 Rio Olympics in a vote in May, replaced by kiteboarding. The International RS:X Class Association filed a legal challenge last week against the International Sailing Federation. So to do your bit head over to change.org and sign the petition, it takes two minutes and could secure the Olympic dreams for many across the world.
Alabau got a regal send-off from her fellow Spanish sailors after coming ashore. As she stood on her board, they hoisted it on their shoulders and paraded her through the boat park. She held a bottle of Spanish sparkling wine in her left hand and waved the Spanish flag with her right. “It was the best of the week, for sure,” she said.
“Yeah, I think this was a mistake,” she said about windsurfing getting blown out of the games. “I think it will come back. This is my hope and this is what I think will be the right thing. I know how to kite and I will kite if they don’t give me another chance, but I love windsurfing.”
Van Rijsselberge agreed. “Of course it’s a sad thing,” he said. “Look at all the people here. Everyone is enjoying themselves. They come off the water with smiles on their faces.”
His gold medal already guaranteed, all Van Rijsselberge had to do was stay on his board and finish the final race.
He did much more than that, winning the medals race to clinch his gold in style.
After winning the race, the 6-foot-3 Van Rijsselberge climbed on top of the console on his coach’s boat and, hanging onto the pole that supports the weather vane, flashed the “hang loose” sign with his right hand. A large Dutch flag flew from the boat.
The Dutchman, who shaved his head just before the games began, said he wanted to do well in the final race.
“It was already in the pocket, but finishing it up like this and seeing everyone on the Nothe Course and them outroaring the British a little bit was a good thing for me, so why not?” he said. “I want to have a good feeling and I want to wrap it up nicely. It’s the medals race and you’ve got to race it. It’s the most important race, pretty much.”
Van Rijsselberge won six of the first nine races. His lead was so big that he sat out the 10th race.
Nick Dempsey of Britain took the silver and Poland’s Przemyslaw Miarczynski got the bronze.
With the race close to shore, Dempsey hopped off his board and greeted friends and family watching from Nothe Fort.
Alabau came into the medals race with a 14-point lead and preserved it by finishing first.
Tuuli Petaja of Finland jumped from third place overall to take the silver medal, thanks to a fourth-place finish in the medals race. Poland’s Zofia Noceti-Klepacka jumped from fifth overall to take the bronze.
Dutch windsurfer Dorian Van Rijsselberge won Gold in London 2012. Watch this interview with him after the medal race.
