DaNewsBlog

Thursday, May 21, 2015

2015 Calendar: July - Aug - Sept

ABK | Hood River OR | July 6 - 10
http://abkboardsports.com/camps/details/342

Rio Vista Grand Slam | Rio Vista | July 9 - 12
http://riovistagrandslam.weebly.com/schedule.html

SFBA Turns 30 | San Francisco | July 10
https://www.facebook.com/SFBA/photos/a.287667864644209.66742.282322668512062/846179755459681/?type=1&theater

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | July 10
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Quiksilver Cup Maui Race Series #4 | Kanaha, Maui | July 11
http://www.mauiraceseries.com/

Calema Junior Olympics | Cocoa FL | July 11
http://www.calema.com/calema-events/events/junior-olympics/

PWA | Pozo | July 12 -18
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=2080

Gorge Cup #5/ USW NRT | Hood River OR | July 18 - 19
http://gorgecup.com/?page_id=7

BIC 293 U 19 Racing | Port Credit ON | July 23 -26
http://www.windsurfingcanada.com/index.php/en/racing-events/events

Crissy Field Slalom Series | San Francisco | July 25
http://www.calcupevents.com/CFSS.shtml

Neil Pryde Hawaii State Championship Maui Race Series #5 | Kanaha, Maui | June 25
http://www.mauiraceseries.com/

TWC Race Series #3 | Toronto | July 25 - 26
http://www.torontowindsurfingclub.com/

Matt Pritchard Wave Camp | Solo Sports Baja | July 25 - Aug 1
http://www.solosports.net/Wavecamps/Mattclinic2015.htm

2015 CMWA Championship | Ottawa ON | July 31 - Aug 3
http://windsurf.ca/events/annual-championships/

CalCup #4 | Berkeley YC | Aug 1
http://www.calcupevents.com/

Gorge Cup #6 | Hood River OR | Aug 1
http://gorgecup.com/?page_id=7

AWT | Baja | Aug 1 - 8
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/events-2015/

CalCup #4 | Berkeley YC | Aug 8
http://www.calcupevents.com/

Menominee Festival Regatta | Menominee MI | Aug 8 - 9
http://www.mowind.org/calendar/calendar.pdf

Sold out Jem Hall Clinic | Solo Sports Baja | Aug 8 - 15 * 15 - 22 * 22 - 29
http://www.jemhall.com/jemhall-windsurfing-clinics/baja-punta-san-carlos.html?view=listcats

Gorge Cup #7 | Hood River OR | Aug 15
http://gorgecup.com/?page_id=7

AWT | Pacasmayo | Aug 22 - 29
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/events-2015/

Ronstan Bridge to Bridge | San Francisco | Sept 3
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | Sept 4
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Levi Siver Wave Camp #1 | Solo Sports Baja | Sept 5 - 11
http://www.solosports.net/Holiday%20schedule/schedule.htm

ABK | Hyannis MA | Sept 11 - 13
http://abkboardsports.com/camps/details/338

Juana Good Time Regatta | Navarre Beach FL | Sept 11 - 13
http://www.juanaspagodas.com/RegattaNews.htm

BABA East Coast Championship | Mayo MD | Sept 19 - 20
http://www.windsurfbaba.org/pages/racing/racing.htm

ECWF | Cape Cod | Sept 19 - 20
http://www.ecwindfest.org/cc/schedule_cc.html

Sold out Matt Pritchard Wave Camp | Solo Sports Baja | Sept 19 - 26
http://www.solosports.net/Wavecamps/Mattclinic2015.htm

WS Mammoth Marathon | Toronto | Sept 20
http://www.windsurfingcanada.com/index.php/en/racing-events/events

AWT | Hatteras | Sept 21 - 25
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/events-2015/

PWA | Sylt | Sept 25 - Oct 4
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=2080

Kona Calema Fall Race Series # 1 | Cocoa FL | Sept 26/27
http://calema.com/events/

Canadian Masters Windsurfing Association events

Windsurfing Canada National Schedule

Mowind does a detailed schedule for the Great Lakes / North Central U.S.

Calcup covers the west coast U.S. races and more

Maui Race Series

Gorge Cup schedule

CGWA Events

ABK continuous tour schedule

U.S. Windsurfing

Southeast U. S. events will be found here

iWindsurf Events page

Solo Sports events

PWA World Tour Events

American Windsurfing (Wave) Tour

BABA events

Matt Pritchard & Shawna Cropas Aloha Clinics

Techno 293 calendar

Windsport events

Curacao events

San Diego FW events

Calema events

OBX events

East Coast Windsurfing Festival

Windsurfing Enthusiasts of Tidewater (WET)

Sunday, March 29, 2015

2015 Calendar: Apr - May - Jun

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | Apr 3
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Cabarete Pro Clinic | Cabarete, DR | Apr 13 - 17 and Apr 20 - 24
https://www.facebook.com/prowindsurf.laventana

ABK | South Padre Island TX | Apr 16 - 19
http://abkboardsports.com/camps/details/329

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | Apr 17
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Matt Pritchard Wave Camp #1 | Baja | Apr 18 - 25
http://www.solosports.net/Holiday%20schedule/schedule.htm

OBX Wind.Com Event | Hatteras | Apr 18 - May 2
http://obx-wind.com/

PWA | France | Apr 20 - 25
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=2080

CalCup #1 | Berkeley YC | Apr 25
http://www.calcupevents.com/

Kona Calema Spring Race Series | Cocoa FL | Apr 25 - 26
http://calema.com/events/

PWA | Austria | Apr 29 - May 3
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=2080

PWA | Korea | May 1 - 6
http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=2080

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | May 1
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Wyatt Miller Wavecamp #1 | Baja | May 9 - 16
http://www.solosports.net/Holiday%20schedule/schedule.htm

Gorge Cup #1 | Hood River OR | May 16
http://gorgecup.com/?page_id=7

Matt Pritchard/Shawna Cropas Aloha Clinic | Maui | May 16 - 22
http://pritchardwindsurfing.com/clinics/

ABK | Pt. Pleasant NJ | May 21
862 268 3033

TWC Race Series #1 | Toronto | May 23
http://www.torontowindsurfingclub.com/

BLUESMITHS Maui Race Series #1 | Kanaha, Maui | May 30
http://www.mauiraceseries.com/

Crissy Field Slalom Series | San Francisco | May 30
http://www.calcupevents.com/CFSS.shtml

Original Windsurfer Series | Traverse City MI | Jun 1 - Aug 31
http://www.mowind.org/calendar/calendar.pdf

AWT | Pistol River OR | June 11 -14
http://americanwindsurfingtour.com/events-2015/

St Francis YC Twilight Series | San Francisco | June 12
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

CGWA Beach Bash | Hood River OR | June 25 - 28
http://gorgewindsurfing.org/events/beachbash/

St Francis YC Twilight Series (Slalom) | San Francisco | June 26
http://www.calcupevents.com/Schedule/Race%20Schedule-list-All.shtml

Door County Breeze Regatta | Ephraim WI | June 26 - 28
http://www.mowind.org/calendar/calendar.pdf

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

2015 Calendar: Jan - Feb - Mar

ISAF World Cup | Miami | Jan 25 - 31
http://miami.ussailing.org/

Master of the Ocean | Cabarete | Feb 23 - 28
http://masteroftheocean.com/

AWT | Cabo Verde | Feb 23 - Mar 8
http://www.caboverdepro.com/

Winter Classic WS Regatta | Sarasota Fl | Feb 27 - Mar 1
http://uswindsurfing.org/event/2015-winter-classic-windsurfing-regatta/

IFJU Fins / Formula US Eastern Championship | Miami | Mar 20 - 22
https://www.facebook.com/events/709504892499095

ABK | Bonaire | Mar 23 - 27
http://abkboardsports.com/camps/details/326

Aloha Clinic | Maui | Mar 28 - Apr 3
http://www.shawnacropas.com/alohawindsurfingclinics/

Canadian events

Mowind does a detailed schedule for the Great Lakes / North Central U.S.

Calcup covers the west coast U.S. races and more

Maui Race Series

Gorge Cup schedule

CGWA Events

ABK continuous tour schedule

U.S. Windsurfing

Southeast U. S. events will be found here

iWindsurf Events page

Solo Sports events

PWA World Tour Events

American Windsurfing (Wave) Tour

BABA events

Matt Pritchard & Shawna Cropas Aloha Clinics

Techno 293 calendar

Windsport events

Curacao events

San Diego FW events

Calema events

OBX events

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Getting Ready for the Miami ISAF World Cup

The New Year Windsurfing Regatta and RS:X - Techno 293 training clinics were held at the Banana River Resort in Cocoa Beach, drew nearly 30 participants and ended Sunday, Jan 4. Long time Olympic hopeful Beth Winkler was the driving force behind the regatta. Beth has put a tremendous amount of energy into renovating the resort for its guests and training athletes. Now the RS:Xers are focused on continued preparation for the Miami OCR, ISAF World Cup, Jan 25 - 31. For the Americans, the best eligible finisher will qualify for the 2nd position on the U.S. Sailing Team and best U.S. finisher will qualify for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Farrah Hall, 33 year old, 2012 London Games RS:X and 2015 U.S. Sailing Team member (won by being the best U.S. finisher at the 2014 RS:X Worlds in Spain) has been a full time active RS:X campaigner since before the 2008 China Games. Her years of hard work and training have made her the best female RS:X racer in America. She won every race at the just finished Cocoa Beach regatta. Even though the U.S. has yet to qualify for the 2016 Rio Games, she's confident the U.S. will complete the mission at the 2015 RS:X Worlds where 6 additional country slots are up for grabs. Farrah Hall Blog

Marion Lepert, a Stanford University sophomore and U.S. Sailing Team member is caught between her commitment to college and an unquenched Olympic thirst. She left the New Year Regatta, Sunday in Cocoa Beach, to start classes on Monday back in California. She'll miss classes later this month to return to the ISAF Olympic Class World Cup Series in Miami, hopefully to learn more about her real chances in the Olympic herd. Marion Lepert Blog

Diana Detre, 31 year old, 2 time, China and London games, RS:X competitor for Hungary is here in Florida testing the water for another campaign. Back troubles and a dose of burn out have kept her away from competition and training. She's back for a month with questions that need answers about how well she really is and whether Olympic training is a real possibility. In 2012, before the London Games when windsurfing was afraid they might lose their chance to compete in Rio to kite racing, Diana and a few others had the chance to test and evaluate a new RS:X prototype board. With a healthy quantity of used gear on the market, the Class decided not to adopt the new design because they feared the financial burden on the development of the class. Even though they liked the new fin, the test team really didn't see much performance difference in the new, lighter hull. They were worried the lighter board might not survive a new racer's learning curve. But Neil Pryde still hopes the Class will adopt their new RS:X Evolution Concept.

Dominique with Beth

Dominique Vallee, 40 year old Canadian windsurfing coach once qualified for the Olympics, broke her leg and missed the chance to compete. She organized and ran the just completed Banana River Resort clinic/regatta and claims she is at peace with being a coach. Her friends privately wonder if she'll throw her hat into the ring for one more Olympic campaign.

2016 - The last chance for North American countries to get into the Rio Games for RS:X will be at the Miami ISAF World Cup event in late January, 2016 where one slot is available for women and two for the men. Who will represent the U.S. for RS:X at the Rio Games? The best combined finisher in the two 2016 ISAF World Cup events in Miami and Spain.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The Road to Brazil

The Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games are less than 2 years away. Countries must qualify to compete in the world's most famous quadrennial event. That first chance to do so is now currently unfolding at the ISAF World Championship in Santander, Spain. Because of the large number of RS:X participants, men and women competitors are each divided into 2 fleets. After 5 races, low qualifiers from the blue and yellow fleets were combined and placed into the gold fleets with everyone else moved into the silver fleet.

Of the 62 RS:X women at Santander, 31 have qualified for the gold fleet representing 15 countries which will vie for the 13 Olympic country positions available at this regatta. Of the 98 RS:X men, 49 have qualified for the gold fleet representing 23 countries, who will compete for 18 country slots. Mexico is now the only North American country in the gold fleets with a chance to qualify; good luck, Demita Vega de Lille and David Mier y Teran !!! Argentina is the lone South American country with a chance to qualify. CAN and USA, men and women, both failed to make it to the gold fleet. They'll have to wait for the next chance in November 2015 when 6 men and 6 women country slots are up for the taking, at the 2015 RS:X Worlds in Oman.

The 2016 Olympics offers the RS:X Class 26 country slots for women and 36 country slots for men. The Olympics host country, Brazil, is prequalified for both RS:X Classes and does not have to earn a spot. Ironically, 2 Brazilian men and 2 women have qualified for their respective gold fleets.

Last chance to qualify, after the World Championships, will be the Continental Qualifiers. The North America CQ offers 2 RS:X country slots for the men and 1 for the women. Many competitors from Central America and the Caribbean will attend. This event will most likely take place in Miami, FL in early 2016 but the venue has not been officially selected.

QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXI OLYMPIAD – RIO 2016

Meanwhile, somewhere to the north, on the coast of Denmark, the PWA is holding a wave contest, the KIA Cold Hawaii...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Praise Pacasmayo Peru

The reports from the AWT Pacasmayo adventure praise this wave sailing paradise in Peru. Levi Siver wrote: "Yesterday was an experience I will never forget. We sailed mast high waves that seemed to last minutes on each ride. Best port tack sailing I've ever had, hands down. My last wave was a bomb, all the way out from the light house to the camp. My arms and legs finally gave out after a full day marathon of endless turns and I remember just standing there in the flats still watching this wave peeling perfectly like a machine. I'm in total disbelief that this place isn't a popular destination for windsurfing. I could write about both sides of my experience in Peru. Why does a country with so much joy, love and resources can still struggle with poverty but I'd rather focus on how epic it was. I didn't get much further than this point break but for me this was it. We rode waves that lasted minutes long and laughed like kids. At 33 years old I was once again surprised by the open road."

Bernd Roediger explained the video below: "Taken just after the Pro Final, really stoked to come away with 3rd in Pacasmayo! This was a great wave caught by Kevin Pritchard (camera owner and Jet Ski driver) and Simon Crowther (filmer and nauseous backseat rider). This is hardly the cleanest, longest, or best ridden wave from this incredible week, but it was recorded expertly and so I think it should be shared!

It’s the most Peaceful 3 minutes anyone could ask for, a gentle, rolling wave… Unlike anything I’ve experienced. A person actually has time to contemplate what’s happening between the Ocean and Him. His Face, and the Wind whispering, repeating the same song for eternity across this stretch of coast. This Coast in which a million waves have broken down in the same way, and will continue long after you and I are gone and forgotten. The Sea dances in perfect rhythm just as each Muscle repeats the same sequence, turn after satisfying turn. A Board, sliding across the water, as your medium between two feet and all the electric, pulsating, ebbing and flowing, energy of the ocean. And the Wave. Crashing with grace, a beautiful death. Like holding the hand of a doomed stranger and in it’s final hour, becoming true friends. By the time the wave is over, this person can feel he has learned from it’s life.

For me, it’s a glimpse into eternity, an ancient message ringing out through time… Everything is cyclical, the life and the death of a thing blending together. Like energy, impossible to destroy, only capable of transformation, the Tides of the Universe take away the old and return with something new, but somehow the same. Just as each peeling wave is a replica of it’s ancestors... and through it all, Love, like a cosmic wind, keeps us sailing on course to our Destinies."

AWT reports: "Logo to mast high sets were steam rolling their way from the point all the way down through to the El Faro Adventure Resort and beyond. It was lining up to be a special day. Bernd Roediger, Morgan Noireaux, Levi Siver, and Kevin Pritchard were set for an epic showdown. They were battling for the top 2 positions to see who would square off in the man on man Final. Check out some of the awesome wave-sailing action!