Luis Miguel Aviña has conquered “El Festival del Viento”, a racing and freestyle kiteboarding tournament held in Bucerias, Mexico. The main goal of the event is to inspire people of all ages to engage in kiteboarding and promote Bucerias as a prime destination for wind sports.
The best Mexican kiteboarders showed up in three freestyle categories: Open Class for intermediate kiters, National Competition for advanced kiters and Women’s division. Also the downwinder and long distance races were designed to bring together a large number of participants who do not necessarily want to enter the freestyle competition.
There were 132 participants: 121 kiteboarders plus 11 windsurfers that were invited to the races. The start of the downwinder race from the Marina in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle on Saturday was truly an amazing site with all the kites lining up to hear the blast of the horn as a boat marked the starting line for the race.
Competitors headed off in a straight line for the 5-kilometer race that ended in Bucerias and was directly followed by the freestyle competition. The conclusion of the event on Sunday began with freestyle finals plus a long distance regatta from Bucerias to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and back.
Everyone enjoyed a fun, competitive atmosphere complete with a great DJ, announcer, food, drinks and lots of wind. Mexico is becoming a strong force in kiteboarding and everyone is invited to show their latest expressions at Festival del Viento, next year.
FREESTYLE COMPETITON RESULTS:
NATIONAL COMPETITION (Experts)
1. Luis Miguel Aviña, COLIMA
2. Adam Withington, COZUMEL
3. Fernando de la Torre, COLIMA
OPEN CLASS (Intermediates)
1. Juan Pablo Maytorena, GUADALAJARA
2. Jaime González Obregón, PUERTO VALLARTA
3. Ricardo Lavín, GUADALAJARA
WOMEN’S DIVISION
1. Warenka Smutny, COLIMA
2. Raquel Arroyo, BUCERIAS
3. Marcela Ley, CULIACAN
DOWNWIND RACE OVERALL RESULTS:
1. Juan Carlos Mestre, LA CRUZ DE HUANACAXTLE
2. Rodrigo Pinto, COLIMA
3. Paco Cabildo, BUCERIAS
LONG DISTANCE RACE OVERALL RESULTS:
1. Alberto Martinez, GUADALAJARA
2. Juan Pablo de Obeso, BUCERIAS
3. Federico Ortiz, NUEVO VALLARTA
