Zandvoort PWA Grand Prix Wave Event

[Vaughan James Sanders]

Had this report forwarded to me.

Jamie

Jamie Sanders
Chalkwell Windsurfing Club
http://freespace.virgin.net/ken.rosier/cwc.htm
--

RE: The Zandvoort PWA Wave Grand Prix - Day 6, 7 and Final Day.

Via IFCA

The Zandvoort PWA Grand Prix Wave Event
Presented by Oxbow
9th – 16th May 1999

Day 6 - 14th May

It’s the fifth competition day of the Zandvoort PWA Wave Grand Prix and
already it has proved to be a great success.The wind has put in an
appearance every day and the waves just need to increase slightly to
test
the PWA sailors and make wave competition possible.

In the past few days, two expression sessions have been run. The most
successful in terms of performance and crowd appreciation must have been
yesterday, when a huge Dutch crowd turned up to enjoy the show. The
event
organiser, Dick Veltman, is a happy man.

“I’m very proud and extremely happy with the event. Yesterday was a
great
day for Dutch windsurfing, but I hope Saturday and Sunday will be even
better”.

Today was a different story. The wind was missing. Therefore the only
competition that could be run, was beach volleyball which the French
sailors
seemed to excel at. The standard light wind pass times, which
incidentally
don’t change in different parts of the world, once again entertained.
These
included, Scrabble, Connect Four and Backgammon. All were played with
the
same ferocity and taken as seriously as official PWA competition.

Different sailors do different things. I asked Sam Ireland KC-1, what he
does when conditions are light.

“Normally the guys joke around a lot and play practical jokes on each
other.
We try to make good use of our time, playing sports like Volleyball.
With
my kit, I do things I should have done ages ago! I try to get
organised,
sort out my sails and tidy the pit area so I can get to my kit! When
there
is no wind all day, we tend to have too much energy. Everyone gets more
rowdy and as time goes on more outrageous”.

The F2 and Neil Pryde Team disappeared mid morning for a team bonding
session. This took place at the local carting track. These guys need
their
daily dose of adrenaline, and this obviously fitted the bill. All
returned
intact!

The afternoon had a ‘festival feel’ with the sailors signing autographs,
doing question and answer sessions and generally exchanging their
surfing
image for that of an entertainer. Various competitions were run,
including a
longboard skate contest headed by Nik Baker.

In some ways, this leisurely day was much needed; many sailors attended
the
previous evening’s party and were perhaps suffering from the effects of
over
indulgence. Of course, by this we mean music and dancing!

Today, therefore was the perfect day to catch up with Head Wave Judge,
Franck Roguet. Franck is a dedicated wave sailor, who is respected for
his
own wave sailing skills and spent the winter months in Maui. He quite
rightly thinks that the judge/sailing combination is positive.

“I think a judge should be a good windsurfer. This way you appreciate
the
complexity of the moves and even try them out, to see how difficult it
is.
You can also feel the difference between onshore, side shore, and
offshore
conditions – and alter the score accordingly. I also know how difficult
it
is to execute certain moves in different conditions. It is much harder
to
complete a backloop in 50 knots, than in 15 knots, so the scoring will
differ accordingly”.

Different events have different weightings, at some events waveriding
will
score more highly than jumping. At this event Franck plans to score the
best three jumps and the three best wave rides.

“In jumps we want to see different moves, with good height and perfect
landings. We are also looking for diversity – as many different jumps
as
possible. We are beginning to see new moves which the guys have been
practising over the winter months. These new moves originate from the
new
freestyle discipline and have been adapted for the waves. Josh Stone is
pretty impressive, pulling off ‘Spocks’ on the wave. If this is seen
in
official competition, it will score good points. I think that these new
freestyle tricks have reinvented windsurfing – this can only be good for
the
sport”.

With the weekend fast approaching, sailors and event organisers alike,
are
hoping that the conditions will arrive in time for tomorrow’s
spectators.

Day 7 - 15th May

Today, is Saturday and the penultimate day of The Zandvoort PWA Wave
Grand
Prix. Anticipation was running high in the camp – would the waves and
wind
increase in time for an official competition to take place?

Many onlookers spent the morning, looking around the ‘the on beach
exhibition’, taking time to view the new seasons equipment. The major
brands included offerings from Neil Pryde, AHD, F2, Fanatic, Simmer,
Mistral
and North. There were several computers online and various windsurfing
related websites to ‘surf’. At one stage it looked as though this would
be
the only form of surfing to take place.

Weather forecasts are always hit and miss – Holland is no exception. At
the
mornings meeting, the wind was predicted to reach 15 knots. The wind
God’s
obviously took exception to this and pulled out all the stops. By early
afternoon the wind was increasing by the minute, 21 knots from the
North,
Northwest. Locals in the know began spreading the word,’ when the winds
in
this direction it picks up really quick, within 45 minutes the waves
should
be 2m high’.

The word spread like a large scale version of ‘Chinese Whispers’.
Sailors
started to twitch, coffee was left unfinished and equipment was tuned.
People on the entry list that hadn’t been seen all week, suddenly
emerged
from the woodwork. The game was on or so we thought. Sadly, we had all
been fooled and although the wind was superb, the waves were still
unable to
match the potential that we had been promised. By 3.30pm it was decided
to
run an unofficial ‘Ultra Manoeuvre Session’.

The Action
An interesting factor that could affect the overall results and see
different sailors standing on the podium, was the change in tack. The
wind
had swung to favour starboard tack, which would suit the likes of Nik
Baker.

“In the past I’ve always struggled on port tack. I’m improving in leaps
and
bounds but I have a long way to go, compared to my starboard tack
sailing.
Maui is always starboard tack and I spend a lot of my time in these
conditions”.

Once again the format was 16 man heats, ten minutes to perform one
exceptionally good move and impress the crowd as much as the judges.
Heat
One saw Robby Seeger G-307, blasting into several dynamic Willy Skippers
close to the beach. At times he was almost too enthusiastic, ‘I ate
sand!
I hit a sandbar trying to get close to the people – that’s what it’s all
about’.

Heat three saw the Pritchard brothers competing on the same patch of
water
for a place in the final. It was Matt Pritchard who was certainly more
in
tune with the choppy conditions. He pulled off a duck gybe pirouette, a
combination move of great complexity. This was certainly the move of
the
day and it appeared in heat three!

The hottest in terms of combined talent was the fourth heat. This
included
Stone, Polakow, Volwater, Talma, and Albeau – to name just a few! Josh
Stone began by attempting to wipe out the crowd. At full pelt he sped
towards the beach, over the white water, into a Willy Skipper, up the
beach
and into the audience. They loved it!

The 16 man final had a great line up, Seeger, Goya, Landman,
Pritchard,Talma, Stone, Volwater, Ireland. However, ‘Rookie of the day
award’ should go to Andy Wolff and Sylvain Puig. Sylvain, F-74, is
relatively new on the tour and already proving his worth.

Andy Wollf was chasing Josh Stone's tail with some fluid Spocks but the
inventor, (Stone himself) proved to be the grand master and outperformed
him
move for move. However, Matt Pritchard was the man to beat, completing
a
Willy Skipper 360.

“I named this, ‘The Free Willy Move’ after seeing the movie and first
completing it quite by accident whilst sailing with a group of Whales.
Its
just earnt me some good money”.

For a change the ladies final had good wind. The girls showed that
given
the chance they could pull off some great freestyle moves. Karen Jaggi
and
Antonia Frey concentrated on sail spinning moves, leaving Diada to take
the
title with a superb spin loop on the way in.

“I feel really good, really, really good and I’m ready to party hard
tonight,” said Daida.

Tickets for tonight’s party, sold out days ago. According to one local
source, they have been changing hands on the black market for twice
they're
worth. It looks like everyone wants a piece of the action, whatever the
price.

Day 8 - 16th May, The Final Day

By all accounts last nights, ‘Champions Party’ went off! This was the
opportunity for the Dutch windsurfing enthusiasts to drink, dance and
rub
shoulders with the stars. Sponsored by Neil Pryde and F2, the evenings
entertainment included a ‘Miss Wet T-Shirt Contest’. Both Bjorn and
Josh
wouldn’t have taken much persuading to act as judges on this occasion!
Josh
Stone filled in the details – some of which can’t be published!

“Last night went off. We had a ‘Wet T-Shirt’ contest which got a little
out
of hand but that’s the way we like it. Some of the female sailors
thought
it was a bit chauvinistic and stole the microphone, turning it into a
male
contest. I got pulled up there with Kevin Pritchard and Scott Fenton.
Luckily we don’t know who won, because we managed to steal the
microphone
back in the nick of time. It could have been very embarrassing!”

Consequently, not many people had surfaced before midday and there
seemed to
be an incredibly large proportion of sailors walking around with
sunglasses – on a very overcast day!

The highlights
Although it wasn’t possible to run the official wave competition, four
freestyle rounds were completed. Conditions for the first half of the
week
were a cat’s whisker away from being ideal, but the waves were just too
small. The week’s highlights relate mostly to the new era of moves,
which
are pushing windsurfing forward into the new Millennium.

Francisco Goya stood out for his enthusiasm, he was on the water at
every
available moment. Always beaming from ear to ear and proving in between
heats, that he could have a budding career as a commentator. Josh Stone,
the
people’s performer will be remembered at this event for his beach
manoeuvres. Literally, running his board up the beach and into the
crowd.
Jason Polkow obviously more at home in truly epic, life threatening
conditions, ventured onto, what for him must be labelled ‘flat water’.
At
this event he will be remembered for an ‘Auto Rotator’ executed in the
white
water, close to the shoreline. On his part, this was an inspired flash
of
brilliance – a move performed with absolute perfection. Proving that
the
World Champion is very much on the pace – even in Euro conditions. Matt
Pritchard is the undisputed ‘Freestyle King,’ at this event anyway with
his
‘Willy Skipper 360.

What the sailors thought
The general consensus from the sailors was that the week had been a lot
of
fun and they had enjoyed the relaxed, more informal style of the
freestyle
competition. The spectators had seen the worlds elite perform on their
doorstep. The organisers were happy, all their criteria had been met -
people on the beach and action on the water.

At the end of the day though, it is the sailors who have the casting
vote.
Bjorn Dunkerbeck had this to say.

“When the wind blows, its pretty radical here. The organisers of this
event
are windsurfers themselves, they want to see the competition succeed and
grow in the future. Even though we haven’t had official competition –
there
has been a lot of media attention, which is good. I think it's great to
have a competition in The North Sea – windsurfing has always been big in
Holland. This competition will grow in the coming years and I’ll be
back
for sure!”

What next?
The next PWA Event travels to the Costa Brava, on the 8th – 13th June.
Watch this space for more details and information.

Results at a glance
The following results show the overall positions of the sailors, in the
four
rounds of Freestyle that took place in Zandvoort.

The Zandvoort Freestyle Results – presented by Oxbow

The Mens Overall Event Result
1. US-10 – Matt Pritchard
2. USA-6 – Josh Stone
3. A-211 – Francisco Goya
4. KA-0 – Steve Allen
5. H-24 – Peter Volwater
6. KBA-8 – Brian Talma
7. D-0 – Michael Viscovitch
8. E-7 – Marcos Perez
9. G-307 – Robby Seeger
10. H-72 – Ramses Landman

Womens Overall Event Results
1. E-64 – Daida Ruana Moreno
2. GR-1 – Antonia Frey
3. E-63 – Iballa Ruana Moreno
4. H-444 – Lucienne Ernst
5. Z-14 – Karen Jaggi
6. KA-929 – Jane Seman
7. H-95 – Cornelia Van Der Schilden
8. H-98 – Anne-Marie Reichman
9. G-652 – Katrin Joachimsthaler
10. Aut-123 – Uli Hotzl

-ENDS-

Follow The PWA World Tour on the web at
www.world-windsurfing.com

Copyright J.Clague /SSM Freesports, unless credited
For further information please contact Julian Yeomans at SSM Freesports
Tel : +44 181 785 0851, Fax: +44 181 785 0852
Email:jul...@ssm-freesports.com

--
Vaughan James Sanders