Palermo, 27 June 2015

Today saw the final day of the 2015 RS:X European & Youth European Championships here at Mondello beach in Sicily. After a challenging week, it all came down to today decide who would take the title. That said, there was a relaxed and positive mood in the air today as the contenders made the most of the last day– hiding any hint of pressure well.

In the men’s senior fleet the points were close with Poland’s Pawel Tarnowski leading after a redress – a protest hearing that allowed him to claim valuable points. In the women’s senior fleet the competition was still very much open and the racing was expected to be exciting as the athletes fought it out in a last chance for the crown. In the men’s youth fleet it was the host country, Italy, who were hoping for a medal with Carlo Ciabatti representing but he wasn’t the only nation to feel the pressure; in the women’s youth fleet Israel had 5 entries with hopes of at least two of their athletes posting a good result.

 

A dominant force in the Women’s Youth European Championship this year was Noy Drihan who put on an impressive show that saw her sat firmly at the top of the leaderboard. Meanwhile Katy Spychakov managed to outfox Russia’s Mariam Sekhposyan and beat her to a third place on the podium. In between the two podium finishers was Shai Blank who bagged the silver medal..

A well represented Israel celebrated a medal in the Youth Men’s division with Yoav Omer. He managed to steal silver from Italy’s Carlo Ciabatti who in the end claimed the bronze medal. But who was in the top spot? It was Sil Hoekstra from the Netherlands – a rising star to watch and the 2015 Youth European Champion.

 

In the women’s senior fleet an epic clash was underway with only 7 points separating the top 5. The key was good tactics and it was the UK’s Bryony Shaw who came up with the goods and secured her spot at the top of the podium and with it the European title.

It was a frustrating story for Bialecka who had the lead all week but lost out on that special gold medal at the very last moment. However a silver was still a pleasing result and a first for the Polish athlete. Finally it was Bialecka’s team mate Zofia Noceti Klepacka who finished up and took the bronze.

 

In the Men’s Senior Gold fleet it was Byron Kokkalanis who won the medal race but finished 6th overall. The fight for the title was between two other contenders..

 

So it was gold for Pawel Tarnowski, Silver for Dorian Van Rijsselberge and Bronze for Luis Giard.

After a wealth of ‘on the water excitement’ it was time for the awards ceremony where the winners were recognized and the celebrations got started. It was time to enjoy the moment and relive the memories of an action packed week.

 

 

 

 

Video highlights of Day 6 Photo Gallery of Day 6

Photos credits: Salvatore Lopez - Albaria
Press Office: ICARUS SAILING MEDIA

2015 RS:X Youth European Windsurfing Championships & Open Trophy.
Mondello, Sicily, Italy
20-27 June 2015

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

 

 

Top 10 YOUTH WOMEN

Rank	Region	Nat	Sail Number	HelmName	SailorID	U17	Gender	Nett	Total	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	M
1st	EU		ISR-20	Noy Drihan	ISRND4	U17	Female	26.0	36.0	(10.0)	9.0	3.0	2.0	7.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0
2nd	EU		ISR-61	Shai Blank	ISRSB14		Female	40.0	58.0	1.0	7.0	1.0	6.0	1.0	5.0	(18.0)	11.0	8.0
3rd	EU		ISR-32	Katy Spychakov	ISRKS1	U17	Female	43.0	61.0	4.0	3.0	2.0	1.0	7.0 SCP5	(18.0)	13.0	7.0	6.0
4th	EU		RUS-13	Mariam Sekhposyan	RUSMS22		Female	44.0	54.0	2.0	1.0	6.0	(10.0)	4.0	4.0	3.0	10.0	14.0
5th	EU		ITA-28	Giulia Alagna	ITAGA58		Female	58.0	73.0	5.0	13.0	9.0	5.0	8.0	3.0	(15.0)	3.0	12.0
6th	EU		ISR-7	Maya Morris	ISRMM3	U17	Female	59.0	71.0	(12.0)	11.0	8.0	4.0	9.0	2.0	7.0	2.0	16.0
7th	EU		ISR-65	Shoval Ravitzky	ISRSR4		Female	60.0	81.0	8.0	5.0	7.0	7.0	6.0	13.0	4.0	(21.0)	10.0
8th	EU		FRA-20	Lucie Pianazza	FRALP29		Female	72.0	91.0	6.0	2.0	4.0	3.0	15.0	8.0	14.0	(19.0)	20.0
9th	EU		NOR-103	Marie-Brunvoll Nustad	NORMN3		Female	75.0	97.0	(22.0)	12.0	13.0	18.0	12.0	7.0	5.0	4.0	4.0
10th	EU		ITA-1	Giorgia Speciale	ITAGS131	U17	Female	81.0	96.0	3.0	8.0	14.0	9.0	3.0	14.0	12.0	(15.0)	18.0

Full Results

Top 10 YOUTH MEN

Rank	F-series	Region	Nat	Sail Number	HelmName	SailorID	U17	Gender	Nett	Total	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	F1	F2	F3	M
1	Gold	EU		NED-25	Sil Hoekstra	NEDSH7	U17	Male	30.0	49.0	2.0	1.0	4.0	2.0	(19.0)	1.0	5.0	3.0	12.0
2	Gold	EU		ISR-24	Yoav Omer	ISRYO2		Male	34.0	41.0	6.0	(7.0)	1.0	1.0	5.0	6.0	4.0	7.0	4.0
3	Gold	EU		ITA-171	Carlo Ciabatti	ITACC130		Male	37.0	49.0	7.0	5.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	(12.0)	16.0
4	Gold	EU		NED-823	Sam Wennekes	NEDSW8		Male	42.0	60.0	5.0	3.0	(18.0)	8.0	8.0	4.0	2.0	2.0	10.0
5	Gold	EU		BLR-766	Artem Javadav	BLRAJ1		Male	48.0	67.0	4.0	11.0	12.0	5.0	10.0	3.0	(19.0)	1.0	2.0
6	Gold	EU		ITA-78	Matteo Evangelisti	ITAME6		Male	51.0	75.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	2.0	1.0	16.0	6.0	(24.0)	20.0
7	Gold	EU		ISR-2	Tal Zadok	ISRTZ10		Male	52.0	72.0	4.0	3.0	3.0	13.0	1.0	(20.0)	16.0	6.0	6.0
8	Gold	EU		ISR-613	Kfir Azulay	ISRKA1	U17	Male	54.0	79.0	5.0	1.0	7.0	3.0	15.0	(25.0)	1.0	8.0	14.0
9	Gold	ROW		ARG-40	Francisco Saubidet Birkner	ARGFS11		Male	58.0	79.0	2.0	9.0	(21.0)	6.0	4.0	7.0	13.0	9.0	8.0
10	Gold	EU		ITA-111	Francesco Tomasello	ITAFT48		Male	63.0	99.0	9.0	2.0	2.0	5.0	5.0	8.0	(36.0)	14.0	18.0

Full Results

 

2015 RS:X European Windsurfing Championships & Open Trophy.
Mondello, Sicily, Italy
20-27 June 2015

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

 

 

Top 10 MEN

Rank	Fleet	Region	Nat	Sail Number	HelmName	SailorID	U21	Gender	Nett	Total	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	F1	F2	F3	F4	M
1	Gold	EU		POL-182	Pawel Tarnowski	POLPT4		Male	33.0	43.0	3.0	2.0	5.0	(10.0)	10.0	RDG [1.0]	1.0	1.0	10.0
2	Gold	EU		NED-8	Dorian van Rijsselberge	NEDDV4		Male	41.0	52.0	10.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	6.0	(11.0)	3.0	16.0
3	Gold	EU		FRA-1	Louis Giard	FRALG33		Male	43.0	57.0	6.0	1.0	4.0	11.0	6.0	1.0	(14.0)	2.0	12.0
4	Gold	EU		FRA-6	Julien Bontemps	FRAJB5		Male	54.0	66.0	10.0	11.0	6.0	8.0	(12.0)	4.0	3.0	4.0	8.0
5	Gold	ROW		KOR-141	Wonwoo Cho	KORWC4		Male	58.0	85.0	1.0	7.0	3.0	2.0	2.0	13.0	(27.0)	10.0	20.0
6	Gold	EU		GRE-8	Byron Kokkalanis	GREBK1		Male	59.0	110.0	2.0	9.0	10.0	(OCS [51.0])	20.0	3.0	7.0	6.0	2.0
7	Gold	EU		ISR-21	Nimrod Mashiah	ISRNM1		Male	62.0	87.0	7.0	6.0	6.0	3.0	14.0	14.0	(25.0)	8.0	4.0
8	Gold	EU		POL-82	Piotr Myszka	POLPM3		Male	63.0	83.0	1.0	8.0	(20.0)	3.0	17.0	8.0	6.0	14.0	6.0
9	Gold	EU		GER-3	Toni Wilhelm	GERTW1		Male	64.0	81.0	3.0	5.0	11.0	6.0	5.0	(17.0)	9.0	11.0	14.0
10	Gold	EU		DEN-158	Sebastian Fleische	DENSF4		Male	65.0	87.0	9.0	2.0	2.0	9.0	(22.0)	18.0	2.0	5.0	18.0

Full Results

Top 10 WOMEN

Rank	Fleet	Region	Nat	Sail Number	HelmName	SailorID	U21	Gender	Nett	Total	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	F1	F2	F3	M
1	Gold	EU		GBR-94	Bryony Shaw	GBRBS1		Female	34.0	56.0	3.0	2.0	12.0	4.0	3.0	(22.0)	2.0	6.0	2.0
2	Gold	EU		POL-21	Malgorzata Bialecka	POLMB3		Female	41.0	64.0	2.0	1.0	4.0	RDGa [2.0]	1.0	2.0	(23.0)	19.0	10.0
3	Gold	EU		POL-8	Zofia Noceti-Klepacka	POLZK1		Female	42.0	59.0	6.0	4.0	4.0	10.0	5.0	1.0	(17.0)	4.0	8.0
4	Gold	EU		POL-7	Maja Dziarnowska	POLMD6		Female	47.0	62.0	11.0	(15.0)	2.0	2.0	13.0	12.0	1.0	2.0	4.0
5	Gold	EU		FRA-4	Charline Picon	FRACP3		Female	50.0	82.0	9.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	(OCS [32.0])	4.0	16.0	12.0	6.0
6	Gold	EU		RUS-271	Stefania Elfutina	RUSSE6	U21	Female	50.0	66.0	2.0	9.0	1.0	12.0	6.0	(16.0)	3.0	5.0	12.0
7	Gold	EU		ISR-10	Maayan Davidovich	ISRMD1		Female	51.0	66.0	7.0	5.0	6.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	9.0	(15.0)	16.0
8	Gold	EU		ESP-1	Blanca Manchon	ESPMB2		Female	58.0	70.0	5.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	9.0	5.0	(12.0)	11.0	18.0
9	Gold	EU		ITA-46	Flavia Tartaglini	ITAFT1		Female	60.0	79.0	11.0	14.0	2.0	6.0	2.0	(19.0)	4.0	7.0	14.0
10	Gold	ROW		BRA-8	Patricia Freitas	BRAPF4		Female	66.0	80.0	8.0	3.0	(SCP5 [14.0])	1.0	10.0	8.0	8.0	RDG [8.0]	20.0

Full Results

Welcome back to Mondello beach in Sicily. The 2015 RS:X European & Youth European Championships have gathered together a top fleet of windsurfers – combining the experience of the senior class with the fresh talent of the Youth class. The windsurfing community is tight knit and the more experienced athletes have no qualms about sharing a few words of advice with the young guns whilst enjoying the injection of energy, fresh blood in the sport provides.

After a challenging day of racing yesterday the athletes were well prepared for another day of tricky conditions on the water for day 4 of the championships. With the qualifiers wrapped up yesterday, the fleets were now seeded into the Gold and Silver ready for the final round of racing.

The men’s senior gold fleet got underway with the athletes bunched up at the pin end of the line. The tension was high as the windsurfers struggled to start in the best position and head towards the favorable side of the race track.

There was a close battle on between Mateo Sanz Lanz from Switzerland and Korea’s Wonwoo Cho as both competitors put in a strong performance. Finally, it was Mateo who took the lead at the front of the pack and crossed the line to take the first race of day. Dorian van Rijsselberge from the Netherlands also seemed to be putting in a consistent show today, keeping within the top of the fleet, determined to challenge for the title.

Unfortunately the breeze wouldn’t hold so it was back to the shore and racing was cancelled for the rest of the day. Luckily Mondello beach is never quiet and there was plenty of fun to be had on land.

So, join us again tomorrow for all the latest action as the competition nears it’s end, the competition hots up and the event title creeps to within touching distance.

 

 

Video highlights of day 4

Photos credits: Salvatore Lopez - Albaria
Press Office: ICARUS SAILING MEDIA

The third day of the 2015 RS:X European Championships dawned unexpectedly overcast with a light rain – not ideal sunbathing weather for the athletes who remained ashore but today at least allowed them some extra time to contemplate the days ahead.. But there’s only so much strategic thinking to be done on the shore with the real test lying out on the racecourse so everyone was keen to get back to racing.

So, the reserve day today found only the women’s senior fleet competing – they still had to complete the qualification series and the anticipation was tangible as the fleet prepared to for the start of the race and another day on their long path to potential Olympic glory.

Finally the clouds cleared and the more typical Sicilian sunshine made an appearance. But unfortunately the winds remained shifty making it extremely difficult for a course to be laid and after numerous attempts from the race committee, the fleet were sent back to land to wait it out.

Eventually their patience paid off, as the breeze arrived and delivered gusts of up to 20knots – the champagne conditions everyone was hoping for.

In the blue fleet, last year’s European Champion Charline Picon from France made a clean start and stole the show, delivering a great performance and scoring 2 bullets. However in the third race she pushed to hard at the start and was over the line early. This time the standout performer was Lilian De Geus who looked composed and stylish throiughtout, scoring a 3rd, a 9th and went on to claim the final bullet of the day.

Inthe yellow fleet Spanish Marina Alabau didn’t perform at her usual level – perhaps the stress of the event was getting to her. On the other hand, the other top gun from Spain, Blanca Manchon was refusing to cave in to any pressure, maintaining a good performance amongst varying conditions. It was a good day for Italy as Flavia Tartaglini scored two seconds and a 6th. There were also smiles from Brazilian Patricia Freitas after scoring a bullet and keeping within the top ten.

After a long but exciting day the RS:X Women’s Senior fleet once again returned to shore, painting the Mondello beach with their red sails. Tomorrow the Championship enters into the final series of races and the tension is building. Stay tuned!

Video highlights of day 3: http://youtu.be/kdESgRRNkd0

Photos credits: Salvatore Lopez - Albaria

Press Office
ICARUS SAILING MEDIA

Welcome to Mondello beach in Palermo, Sicily and the ‘World Windsurf Festival On The Beach’, now celebrating its 30th year. The 2015 edition sees Mondello inundated with the world’s top windsurfers as the 2015 RS:X European Championships kicks off. The event runs from the 21st to the 27th of June and will be accompanied by a myriad of other activities also taking place along this stunning beach.

The very best athletes, representing 41 nations, lined up to partake in the opening ceremony - a celebration to mark the start of this internationally recognized regatta that plays a crucial role in the athletes’ schedule as they cram their year with training ahead of the Olympic Games in 2016.

Competitive windsurfing is as much about skill as it is about physical prowess and the fleet were eager to make their mark on the first day of the competition.

The RS:X is an extremely attractive and dynamic sport that features a highly technical rig enabling windsurfers to compete in virtually any conditions. Racing is always close, exciting and visually appealing, as this fast paced class represents the extreme end of competition in the Olympic Sailing Classes.

The pressure was on in Sicily and so was the breeze. The RS:X Men’s division were first to race and there were sure to be some crossed swords as the fleet battle for optimum position in the course. World Champions, European Champions, Olympians and new title contenders were all in the mix looking to post some good results. The pressure was high and the race committee had to recall the fleet a few times as the windsurfers crossed the line early.

It was a great start to the event for 2014 European title holder, Piotr Myszka from Poland who scored the first bullet followed by Greek Byron Kokalanis currently no.1 in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings. In the other men’s senior fleet, Korea’s Cho Wonwoo ruled the waves with Germany’s Wilhelm Toni also at the top of the fleet.

Day 1 Video

 

DAY 2

With just over one year left until the next Olympic Games in Rio, Brasil, the athletes in the Olympic RS:X class are at the peak of their performance. In fact, some have already taken their first steps towards Olympic glory but they’ve still got a long way to go and the competition is fierce.

Racing here is quite similar to Rio with both venues renowned for their light and shifty winds, making consistency a hard thing to achieve especially amongst such a high caliber fleet.

The action packed day started with the women’s fleet where a great tactical game was at play amongst some of the best windsurfers in the RS:X class. Charline Picon the 2014 World titleholder from France scored 9th in the first race but made a great come back securing a bullet in the second race. The stand out performance of the day belonged to Polish Bialecka Malgorzata and Israel’s Hadar Heller, who both scored a bullet and a second place finish. Consistency paid off for UK’s Bryony Shaw who now stands in 3rd overall after posting a second and a third. The main battle of the day was a clash of the Spaniards with Blanca Manchon lying just one point ahead of Marina Alabau.

After some exciting races for the women’s fleet it was time for the men to hit the water and fight it out for the first bullet of the day and they were right on time as the breeze built for the start.

A good start is crucial for all of the athletes, allowing them to get a good position on the course and hopefully maintain it around the race track – going for the favorable side of the start –the side that will pay off is key. There were some new “protagonists” today, as Fleischer Sebastian from Denmark, Galili Amir from Israel and Ivan Pastor from Spain took their chances to climb up the leaderboard.

The Championship still has a long way to go until the podium moment, so the competition is still wide open and the leaderboard could change many times between now and the last day, so stay with us.

Day 2 Video

Event website: www.rsxclass.org/europeans2015

 

 

It’s call RS:X European Open Windsurfing Championship, but in reality it’s a real World Championship with over 41 nations registered, including five out of the six medals in London 2012.

The Olimpyc class of windsurfing, RS:X, is back in full splendor, from June 20th until June 27th in the jewlery spot of Mondello, Palermo, Sicily.

Together with the best in the world for the olympic class, the crystal water of Mondello will host also the future champions as the “Youth” under 19 years will be racing also for their European Championships.

There is an incredible excitement in these days around the Roggero di Lauria Club and Albaria Windsurfing Club, that joined forces to organize the event with the help of the city of Palermo.

Andrea Vitale, Lauria President, keep cheering the fact that their club never saw before so many Nations at an event.

Vincenzo Baglione, heart and Director of Albaria, would like to underline the effort that his club and his President Vincenzo Pottino have being doing all these years to bring back windsurfing in the Olimpycs and to clean the beach of Mondello from eccessive structures during their sport events.

The most happy seems to be the President of the Rs:x class, Carlo Dalla Vedova.
“We are back in my own Nation in the best way, with big world participation and in the best organized spot “ says Dalla Vedova an avid windsurfer himself. “ The presence and level of participants is an anticipation of the World Championship in Oman next October and the final appointment in Rio next summer. The pre-olimpic of Rio de Janeiro starts now in Sicily then, and the Albaria Windsurfing Club celebrates in the best way their commitment with the sport and the 30ties edition of the “World Festival on the beach”.

AlbariaPress

The RS:X Class Executive Committee and the ISAF have approved the introduction of the new two part RS:X batten (No 6 only) for 8.5 and 9.5 RS:X sails.

The NeilPryde will introduce these battens in August 2015 as spares part through their distributor exclusive channels. The new battens will be implemented for the finished sails August 2015 production as a running change.

Sailors are allowed to compete with both versions until the three part battens will completely disappear from the market as there are no production anymore.

To help the identification, the NeilPryde has added a colorful adhesive transparency. New two-part 9.5 No 6 battens will feature a gold tape and new 8.5 No 6 battens will feature a red tape from the tip part toward the rod part while the current three parts batten don’t feature such identification.
RSX-85-batten6 2-pc

The prices between the current and the new batten will remain unchanged.

The sails to be supplied at the Rio Olympic Games will only feature these new two part battens.

 

PS. There will be a meeting in Mondello, Italy (during the RS:X Europeans and Youth Europeans) on 24th June with the representative of Cobra factory, to discuss the problems/solutions with the 66cm fins. The exact time and place of the meeting will be announced through the Official Notice Board and at the skippers meeting.

NeilPryde/RS:X