A host of potential Olympic stars of the future and those who still cut the mustard at the top level will descend on Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) from this Saturday (22 August) for the 2009 IWA Junior, Youth and Masters Windsurfing World Championships.[more]
Incorporating the Bic Techno Under 15 and Under 17 and Raceboard Youth and Raceboard Masters Worlds, the event brings together no fewer than 215 windsurfers from across the globe, as well as the age spectrum, for what is set to be six days of scintillating competition off the Dorset coastline.
Portugal’s Joao Rodrigues, silver medallist at the 2008 RS:X Worlds and 11th at Beijing 2008, will be one of the hot favourites for the Raceboard Masters crown although Paco Wirz (ITA), the defending 2008 Masters World Champion and 2009 Masters European Champion will not be willing to give up his crown without a fight. Patrik Pollak (SVK), who clinched the 2009 European Raceboard crown in June, will also be hot on their tails.
In the Raceboard Youth event, RYA Volvo Youth Squad sailor Izzy Hamilton, 17, has been in sensational form recently landing silver at July’s ISAF Youth Worlds in Brazil before going one better at the RS:X Youth World Championships in Turkey and clinching the World Under 19 title.
Solving Sayre was also in action at the ISAF Youth Worlds representing the USA and could be in the mix for the girls’ title.
For the boys, Hamilton’s RYA Volvo Youth squadmate Ali Masters will be keen to impress on home waters while Marc Noesmoen (FRA), fourth at last year’s Worlds, and Oliver-Tom Schliemann (GER) are also among the leading contenders.
Racing at the 2009 IWA Junior, Youth and Masters World Championships gets underway on Monday 24 August with Friday 28 August scheduled as a reserve day.
