IFCA Youth & Junior Funboard Slalom World Championships 2023 in Calasetta - Days 2 and 3
by Elena Giolai 10 Jun 2023 07:29 UTC
7-10 June 2023
IFCA Youth & Junior Funboard Slalom World Championships 2023 in Calasetta © Alessandro Giovanelli
In Calasetta (South Sardinia, Italy), the third day of the World Windsurfing Championships fin slalom specialty for the Youth (Under 21) and Junior (under 17) categories, an international event organised by the Centro Nautico Marinai d'Italia Sant'Antioco from 5 to 10 June and part of the Calasetta Water Sports Festival programme of sporting events, which will end on 18 June.
After two days of no action at sea due to insufficient wind intensity, today, Thursday 8 June, two days from the conclusion, a mistral wind that was initially at 8 knots gradually relaxed until it reached the fateful 11 knots, indispensable to be able to start the slalom fin races. The athletes in the Youth under 21 category started off in this way, but from the third heat the wind began to be 'punctured', oscillating with ever weaker gusts, until it forced the Race Committee first to repeat some starts, then to give up and stop at the total balance of two heats.
In the first men's Youth heat (under 21), the two Frenchmen Delerue-Abel and the two Italians Laurenza and Prosperi, both from the Centro Surf Bracciano, advanced to the next heat (the first four go through). In heat 2, three Frenchmen (Fortune, Bourgeois and Balanca) and the Dane Walldén passed. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the FIV Race Committee stayed on the water until 6pm to see if the wind would pick up, the day ended with no scoreboard completed, but with the hope of continuing with more regattas on Friday and Saturday.
Among the side activities, this morning at Spiaggia La Salina, the headquarters of the Calasetta Water Sports Festival's sports activities, the children of the non-profit organisation 'Gli Equilibristi' returned, who played a bocce tournament together with the athletes participating in the Windsurfing World Championship, still on the beach waiting for the wind to increase. Another inclusive activity, after the opening parade, which saw them alongside the flag bearers of each nation.
"If on the one hand the world championship regattas are taking off with difficulty due to abnormal wind conditions for our area, which is usually beaten by a fine mistral that can even reach 20 knots," commented Antonello Iesu, President of the organising club, "the collateral activities and above all the inclusive project with the non-profit associations we have involved are giving great satisfaction. An added value to the Calasetta Water Sports Festival, which will continue throughout the summer, thanks to the commitment of the Centro Nautico Marinai d'Italia. Also on Friday at the La Salina beach, there will be school children for the 'Adopt a school' project promoted by Sport and Health, in collaboration with the Italian Canoe Kayak Federation'.
See full results
Day 2/Opening ceremony:
The Windsurfing World Championship for the funboard slalom-fin youth (U21 and U17) speciality, scheduled to take place in Calasetta (South Sardinia) from 6 to 10 June, got under way officially on Tuesday evening, during the opening ceremony, which was preceded by a parade of all the teams through the streets of the centre of Calasetta, in a suggestive route that started during a beautiful sunset from the Savoy tower, passing by the Church of San Maurizio, and ending in the central Piazza Belly. The parade was preceded by the Calasetta band, which accompanied athletes, coaches, and relatives up to the stage set up in the square and which will host all the side events, flanking the sporting events, included in the Calasetta Water Sports Festival.
At the opening ceremony - after the presentation of the participating teams from Belgium, Bonaire, Croatia, France, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, and, of course, Italy - Mayor Claudia Mura and Sports Councillor Matteo Cabras welcomed all participants. Also present were the Greco brothers from Carloforte Tonnare, main sponsor of the event, who told the fascinating story of their company and the policies adopted for sustainable and quality fishing. The evening was also an opportunity to put into practice inclusion, one of the values pursued by the Calasetta Water Sport Festival and the organising club Centro Nautico Marinai d'Italia Sant'Antioco, together with the association Gli Equilibristi, which was able to actively participate in the parade and the opening ceremony, alongside the youngsters supervised by the head of the non-profit organisation Nadia Massaiu, and the flag-bearer athletes from each country present.