Almanarre, France has a ladies Slalom event only, running from the 4th till the 8th of September. Most of the best ladies of the racing circuit fight at the 4th event of the season, which is the final, for important points. Karin Jaggi alreday secured the title in 2010, but the fight the remaining two places on the podium is tight. Valerie Arrighetti, worldchampion 2009, already could win the first three eliminations in 9 to 15 knots and has a clear lead. Day 2 saw no racing. The wind did not blow!
See below the video produced by Pertusato Films and also several statements of the PWA ladies, how they think about the girls only event!
Gentle winds halt the proceedings on day two of the women’s slalom final leaving the sailors to bask in the glorious Mediterranean sunshine on the beautiful beach of Almanarre. Patience proves key in world cup windsurfing, and today was a fine example, with a light offshore breeze simply teasing the competitors and therefore forcing them to endure an entire day on standby. Not many times ladies events only wer organised on th ePWA worldtour. Once we saw a format like this in Canada in the freestyle diszipline! Whilst the sailors were on standby, Paul Griffiths took the opportunity to find out what the world’s most elite female race force think of women’s only events. Here are the satements. read them and get som ecomments posted what you think about ladies only tourstopps!
Verena Fauster (Patrik, Gaastra) – ITA 31
“It’s really special having a women’s only event, and I think it should happen more often because it focuses everyone’s attention directly on us. It’s also very nice for all the girls to be together having fun. I do however think that if the event had been confirmed earlier in the season there would’ve been a better turn out, but there’s always next year!”
Marion Mortefon – FRA 141
“This is a great event, and such a good concept because it allows the women to take the limelight for once.”
Delphine Cousin (Fanatic, North) – FRA 775
“Having a PWA event with just the girls is an excellent idea because we can get much more racing in which is the real reason we’re here. We wouldn’t have had anywhere near the same amount of racing yesterday if the guys had been here too.”
Greta Marchegger (JP, Gaastra) – ITA 193
“It’s really cool that there’s an event which is solely for the girls because there are loads of women in the PWA, and in windsurfing itself, so we need to promote the fact that it’s not just a sport for men.”
Greta Benvenuti – ITA 38
“It’s so much better for the women to have events like this because we can get more time on the water competing.”
Sarah Hebert (Naish, Naish) – ARM 1
“It’s an excellent idea, and will definitely help to promote windsurfing to more women because the media is fully focussed on females for once.”
Julie Berthou – FRA 451
“I’m really happy to be here at the PWA event purely for women because it shows all of the spectators that females can windsurf too!”
Lindsay Berruyer – FRA 260
“I think it’s great having events like this because those sailors lower down the ranks don’t feel as intimidated as when the guys are around. It’s amazing that girls like me can race on the same course as the world champion!”
Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra) – ARU 91
“Whatssss Up! I’ve been super excited about this all-women’s event for a long time now. It’s really cool to have all of the attention on us, usually we’re a bit overshadowed by the men. I’m not sure why, we’re so much sexier than them!!!”
Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne) – SUI 14
“I think it’s really important to have women only events because the focus is clearly on us, and it gives the spectators the chance to see how high the level actually is in the female fleet. It’s definitely advantageous for us because usually we have to compete for coverage with the men, which makes it much more difficult. It’s also great for the younger girls coming in to the sport because it’s far less intimidating.”
Olivia Piani (Exocet, Loft) – FRA 51
“It’s great for the girls here because we can do so much more racing than we would otherwise do, and everyone gets to see how good we all are!”
Marion Raisi – Women’s Event Manager
“I think this event is really important for the women because it’s the only week that focuses totally on the girls – the guys have plenty of events on their own, so why not the women too! It’s also important for the media outside of the industry because at a mixed event they’re bound to focus on the men because their sailing looks more impressive, whereas the press is forced to show off the girls here. If we are to grow the sport of windsurfing this is crucial.”
Lise Vidal (Exocet, North) – FRA 19
“We can do so much more racing when we’re on our own, but I think the best solution would be to have a mixed event with the same amount of time dedicated to women’s competition as the men’s.”
Fanny Aubet (JP, NeilPryde) – FRA 809
“It’s much better for promoting the sport to females, and will surely motivate more to join in.”
Ophelie Joly (Fanatic, North) – FRA 64
“I think it’s a great idea having an event with just the girls because it promotes the women’s side of windsurfing.”
Morane Demont (Starboard, North) – FRA 59
“This is a great concept that Marion has come up with and it’s turning out to be an amazing event that will help promote women’s windsurfing. I do still enjoy the mixed events too, but it’d be nice to have one event every year like this.”
Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou, Loft, Mystic) – FRA 444
“This is absolutely unique – it’s the only event of it’s kind. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in my whole career! What a wonderful idea.”
Marianne Kaplas (Starboard, Severne) – FIN 134
“This is only my second competition, but I’m definitely enjoying it more because we are getting on the water racing whenever the conditions allow, and don’t have to wait on land watching the men!”
Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) – FRA 111
“Women’s only events are an excellent idea because we get to go on the water for the whole day instead of sitting on the beach. As well as getting much more racing in, we also have so much more time which enables the fleet to be split in every single race and allows the newer girls a chance to learn more, and perhaps even win a heat or two!”
Emilie Lallement – FRA 494
“I’m only 15 years old, so this event is a really good opportunity for me to race against girls of a much higher level. It’s cool having the guys around, but I think this way we get more racing in.”
Estelle Barre – FRA 675
“This is my first ever PWA event so I’m not sure whether it’s better to have the guys and girls together, but it’s very well organised, and great to be racing against the top level sailors.”
© PWAworldtour 2010, Paul Griffiths
