2009 SLALOM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
MEN and WOMEN
Texel, The
Netherlands
8 - 13 June 2009
uccesful WC slalom windsurfing
The WC windsurfing of 2009 was a succesful
edition. The event took place during the Zwitserleven
Zeilweek on the Island of Texel. During the
registration at Monday a bright sun warmed up the beach. With the good forecast
we had a promising event to come. It was a shot in the hole on day one. Bernd Flessner (G16), top favorite was
delighted: "It is years ago, when we had such condition during a
slalom competition. Side shore winds and marks in the break.
Unbelievable."
Surprises during day 1:
On day 1 during the WC windsurfing they completed
three elimination with a windforce 5-6 from the
south. While this WC is organized there is also a professional contest in
Spain. Most topsurfers preferred to go there so we
have a nice field of outsider and complete unknowns. The Dutchmen Jacques van der Hout was one of the suprises of day one. A few years ago he stopped with
contest but he was in for a good windsurfing week. So the Former Dutch Champion
got on the ferry and went to Texel. "I am happy to be here, my
preparation is bad and now I am placed second. I hope my condition won't let me
down. This could be a long week."
Best catch on day three
During day two and three we had to wait on the
necessary 11 knots. But windsurfers rather stay on the beach then float around
on the sea. Dutch fastest windsurfer Dirk Doppenberg.
"It is absolutely useless to go out now. There is not enough wind and
there is a lot of current. But we are used to it. Windsurfing is a nature sport
where we need a lot of wind. Don't forget we cannot float like boats do. But we
have a result now, the contest has started. We have sailed three eliminations
and when we do two more we have an extra discard. That can make the rankings
totally different." On the end of day three it looked like the wind was
strong enough for another elimination. But the
organizers had difficulties to set the course because the wind suddenly turned.
After they had laid the course again a Fishing boat caught one of their marks. A good catch, but not for the organizers. Before they got
their buoy back the wind died.
Final races on day four
With an onshore northwest wind and a hard break it was
a hard day for the windsurfers. Due to the upcoming wind the waves got bigger
and made it more difficult for the sailors. Still the contest directors managed
to complete two complete eliminations. They started a third one, but they
couldn't complete it due to the dying winds. This one doesn't count for the
final results. On day four, the leader of the moment, broke his mast just
before his heat. It looked like he was going to waste his placing here. Also
the runner up of the moment had difficulties in the light winds. It looked like
number 3 would profit from the bad results of the top two competitors. Just
before the start we had a little chat with Josh Ludo (ESP 12). After day 1 he
was on the third place. He took second place in the first elimination of today
and it looked like he could be the winner of the day. Number 1 and 2 made some
mistakes and we asked him about his heat and the result. "In the final I
had a good start downwind, but I was trimmed for lichtwind
so I couldn't get as much speed I wanted. I got second after Antoine at the
first mark and was pretty much in control. Antoine had a clear lead so there was
no need to push and I tried to control in second place. About the ranking, I
will not climb the ladder because the other guys can discard their results
in Elimination four."
But after elimination four and five number one and two
of the moment could hold their rankings due to the two discards they could use.
Josh Ludo who seemed to profit from their bad result was even caught up by
Antoine Questel (FRA 99) who silently climbed the
ranking. Also Adriaan van Rijsselberghe
climbed the ladders and became fifth overall.
Top five of the event.
As of 2009, the Round Texel Race is to be continued as
Zwitserleven Sailing Week. This
high-performance event unites spectacular activities that raise the
adrenalin. For decades the main focus was on the Round Texel Race itself,
whereas the new program becomes more extensive, challenging and longer. Not only for the competitive and recreational sailors, but also for
the spectators. The first considerable addition is the 2009
Slalom World Championship that will attract the world's best windsurfers.
From June 8 until June 13, the Texel beach at Paal 17 will be the center of everything that sails on the
sea, beach and through the surf at high speed. Spectators will be presented
with a variety of activities, such as clinics and presentations in the Pitlane on the beach. There will be several demonstration
sports. The sand offers a perfect course for the sensational experience of land
yachting with Volvo Blokarts. Meanwhile, the kitesurfers will show their skills in the surf and the
high-performance sailors their acrobatics on skiffs.
Development
"It is our aim to develop the Round Texel Race
and Texel Dutch Open altogether", said Sidny van
Zon (NED), chairman of the Round Texel Foundation.
"Every year, we put a huge effort into building a fantastic event area at Paal 17. It is a pity that it can only be used for a few
days and therefore we looked into the possibilities of expanding the concept.
The Zwitserleven Sailing Week will unite the less
conventional and especially spectacular classes into the high-performance event
on the annual racing calendar."
"Additional advantages are the early arrival of
participants, lots of activities for the audience and the media can cover more
top sports", says Event Co-ordinator Edwin Lodder (NED). The goal for 2010 is to further develop the Zwitserleven Sailing Week: ". . . the windsurfing
element will remain part of the program as well".
The Zwitserleven Sailing Week
2009 is also supported by VVV Texel, TNG, Treffers
& Kappa, Nissan, Paal 17 Events, Rab-Texeler, ROC Mondriaan, TESO
and Liebherr