With the first PWA Freestyle event starting  soon on Bonaire, all eyes are on the freestyle men and their amazing performance but let’s not forget about the girls…

 

Olya Raskina - Pic: PWA/John Carter

Olya Raskina – Pic: PWA/John Carter

 

Tension is rising for Arrianne Aukes after rumours of fights with her roommates (Maeli and Oda) over who has to sleep on the floor. We just hope Arrianne doesn’t spend her entry fee on fines from riding a scooter with too many people. Maaike Huvermann should be back home finishing her exams, instead she is hanging around the surfhostel waiting for rides to the beach because she is still too young to drive a scooter herself. The only thing stopping Oda Johanne from doing well is that, with her physio boyfriend not being here, she is unable to get her daily massages to repair her body after 6 hours sailing. Talking about boyfriends (or lack of), we hope the single girls on tour won’t get distracted by all the “pretty” guys around (according to Marco Lufen). We’re worried Olya Raskina has misunderstood and thinks the contest area includes the reef break. Some say Sarah-Quita Offringa gets her supernatural powers from her big afro. We’ve noticed it’s shorter…hopefully she hasn’t lost her superpowers. As long as the PWA don’t have a minimum height restriction, Maeli Cherel should be allowed to compete. She might have to find a new board though. Francesca Floris’s moral is high after Italy’s unexpected football victory over England. Yoli de Brendt has tennis elbow and we think it’s because she has spent too much time sailing to match her game to Gollito’s. Maxime van Gent is going to be under a lot of pressure with her local crowd cheering her on. Can she handle it?

 

 

 THE GIRLS

 

Sarah-Quita Offringa

Sarah-Quita Offringa

 

Sarah Quita Offringa | ARU-91

Sarah Quita is the Queen of Freestyle. She has been freestyle World Champion for several years in a row now, and this is not surprising when you see her on the water. Her level of sailing is comparable to a lot of the PWA guys.  This year she has finished her Bachelor degree in the Netherlands so over the last months she has finally had more time to train and improve even more. 

Freestyle Ranking 2013: 1st 
Moves to expect: Culo both sides, Air Funnell, Double Spock, Burner, Kono, …

 

 

 

 

Arrianne Aukes

Arrianne Aukes

 

Arrianne Aukes | H-131

Since Arrianne came onto the tour, she quickly made her way to the top 3 and managed to finish second place last year. She is a powerful sailor and is well known for her consistency in competition. The Dutch sailor has been training hard in Brazil and Bonaire getting ready for the upcoming season. Arrianne is prepared to give it all in windsurfing and goes for big moves without being scared of getting hurt.

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 2nd
Moves to expect: Double Flaka, Culo, Funnell, Switch Kono, Kono, Puneta 

 

 

 

 

Yoli de Brendt

Yoli de Brendt

 

Yoli de Brendt | V-26

Yoli has been on the podium for many years in a row and has a lot of experience in competition. She lives in El Yaque/Venezuela where she has a perfect home spot to train and improve. With the strong winds from El Yaque she is very well prepared for Fuerteventura but don’t underestimate her ability in Bonaire with consistent planing Switch Chacho’s. 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 3rd
Moves to expect:  Shaka, Double Flaka, Switch Chacho, Eslider, Switch Kono

 

 

 

 

Olya Raskina

Olya Raskina

 

Olya Raskina | RUS-14

Olya is well known for her impressive (big) wave sailing but is also a very consistent freestyler. Olya comes from Russia and trains a lot in Mauritius, Dahab and South Africa. She has been on tour for a while and therefore has a lot of experience in sailing heats. Olya loves strong wind and with the upcoming forecast for Bonaire it looks likes she is going to get what she likes. 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 4th
Moves to expect: Puneta, Clew first Puneta, Shaka, Double Flaka, Forward loop

 

 

 

 

Oda Stokstad Brodholt

Oda Stokstad Brodholt

 

Oda Stokstad Brodholt | N-500

Oda made her debut last year and did extremely well ranking 5th overall. This winter she has been training hard in Jeri and Bonaire and has improved even more. The ex-professional handballer has now fully dedicated herself to freestyle and has the right mindset to compete. Oda is from Norway and is used to sailing in extremely cold temperatures but somehow she still sails in  a wetsuit in Bonaire…

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 5th
Moves to expect: Double Flaka, Shaka, Switch Kono, Kono, Funnell

 

 

 

 

Maaike Huvermann

Maaike Huvermann

 

Maaike Huvermann |NED-108

Maaike is only sixteen and the youngest on tour, but the amount she has improved in only one year shows incredible talent and a lot of determination. She is still in high school so has no time to travel but with Brouwersdam in the Netherlands being her homespot she manages to find enough time to sail and improve. She now does switch and regular moves on both sides and is working on powermoves. The conditions in Bonaire are quite similar to her homespot and so we won’t be surprised if she will provide an impressive range of moves. 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 6th
Moves to expect: Switch Kono, Double Flaka, Puneta, Eslider, Spock both sides

 

 

 

 

Maxime van Gent

Maxime van Gent

 

Maxime van Gent | NB-22

Bonaire is Maxime’s home spot and with an epic winter season this year she has had a lot of opportunity to train. She is young and talented, and impresses everybody with her smooth shakas. She finished high school last year and does sport studies in Bonaire which is good to combine with windsurfing. She won the Sorobon Masters event just a week before the PWA which will give her an even bigger push for the PWA this week. 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 7th
Moves to expect: Shaka, Funnell, Clew first Spock, planing Grubby, Eslider 

 

 

 

 

Francesca Floris

Francesca Floris

 

Francesca Floris | ITA-211

Francesca lives in Sardinia and, being a teacher, she gets to spend a lot of time on the water. This winter she spent 3 months training in Bonaire getting ready for the upcoming season. This will be her second year competing and with the conditions in Bonaire being easier than in her home spot we think she can do well. 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: 10th
Moves to expect: Spock, Grubby, Clew first Spock 

 

 

 

 

 

Maeli Cherel

Maeli Cherel

 

Maeli Cherel | AUS-558

Maeli is small in size but big in moves. She is going to make her debut this year in freestyle and waves and Bonaire will be her first PWA event ever. She has been living and working in Australia for the past three years and has trained a lot for both disciplines. She took this year off to travel and train around the world. Maeli prefers high winds and loves to use her wave skills in freestyle but with the wind being strong in Bonaire this week we think she can do well.
 

PWA Freestyle Ranking 2013: No ranking, Maeli has her debut this year
Moves to expect: Spock, Grubby, Clew first Spock, Eslider, Forward loop

 

 

 © by Arrianne Aukes

 

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