Kai Lenny
With the wind and waves set to build overnight head judge Duncan Coombs has called competition on at Ho’okipa for tomorrow, 1st November.
Riders will head to the beach for a 10am skippers meeting, with a first possible start for the pros men and women of 11am and the next call for all other fleets at 11am. With lots of competition to run it is important the competition gets rolling, giving all fleets the opportunity to compete.
The tour has progressed a great deal over the years, from AWT to IWT – providing competition for all levels of riders in some of the best windsurfing locations around the world. We are proud to run such a fantastic tour and provide our riders with a high level of competition and now, as an added bonus, some of the IWT events have been sanctioned as PWA qualifiers (the Aloha Classic this year and Morocco next year), giving riders with the aspiration of moving across to the PWA the opportunity to do just this.
Duncan Coombs
We caught up with Duncan today to discuss this a little more…
“This is the first year we are seeing some IWT events used as qualifiers for the PWA and I think it should work really well, especially as we have a starboard tack, down-the-line event coming up in Portugal in 2018; it gives riders the opportunity to qualify into a similar event on the PWA tour.
“Both Hawaii this year and Morocco next year will be used as qualifiers for the PWA tour and they will give lower or un-ranked riders the opportunity to gain recognition and potentially a spot straight into the PWA. I think this is a really positive step and something we have wanted to do for a while, but we didn’t really have the right canvas until now.
“We have previously looked at using other events and tours as qualifiers, but we needed to make sure that the events were up to a certain standard which we believe, with myself as a PWA representative at the events too, that the IWT events will be.
“A sailor rep will be appointed by the PWA and they will have the final say on how and where the top, previously unranked, riders from the qualifiers will then compete. They may earn a place into the PWA trials, or they could even earn a spot straight into the PWA main event – it is a work in progress at the moment and will depend on the performance and level shown.”
Whilst the PWA and IWT are different tours, with different focuses, we look forward to being able to progress windsurfing competition together and give even more riders the chance to compete on whatever stage they wish.
Good luck to all the riders competing tomorrow, we will see you at the beach bright and early for a 10am skippers meeting!
Sarah Hauser and Amanda Beenen
Head to our Facebook page for a full gallery of more lay day fun and activities with the IWT riders, from chilling with de Action Man to underwater rock running with the girls!
Stay tuned to the Aloha Classic website and social media for further updates. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, and Twitter.
Media contact – Amy Carter media@internationalwindsurfingtour.com
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