The victors of both the boys and girls titles at the TwinTip:Racing (TT:R) Slalom Youth World Champions sealed their wins with dominant performances that mirrored their progress through the enthralling event on China’s tropical Hainan Island. The Dominican Republic’s Adeuri Corniel was almost untouchable in the high-octane races, capturing the title with room to spare. He was so far ahead in the rankings, he was able to discard first places from earlier elimination round deciders. If anything, Spain’s Nina Font Castells grabbed the girls’ title with a display that was even more consistent, taking four straight elimination deciders from the six that were squeezed into the three days of racing. The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) TT:R Youth Worlds staged on the sparkling waters of Asia Bay, Bo’ao, also doubled as the final qualification event for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. In landing their world titles, Corniel and Font Castells also earned their nations a coveted spot at the games in Buenos Aires in October when kiteboarding’s first Olympic medals will be awarded. Three other slots each for boys and girls were also secured at the Youth Worlds. The boys’ places were won by China’s Haoran Zhang, Croatia’s Martin …
Hainan Island
Dominicans dominate in intense battles at Youth Worlds in China
Young kiteboard racers from the Dominican Republic charged to the top of the leaderboard after a long day of close-fought racing at the TwinTip: Racing (TT:R) World Championships being staged on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan. Freestyle star Adeuri Corniel (DOM) grabbed the top spot with a dominant performance on the penultimate day of the competition, seizing three wins from three in the crucial elimination round deciders. The exuberant young competitor easily cast aside his poor start in the opening races after two windless days at the beginning of the competition, which will also serve as a qualifier for the the upcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Argentina in October. Countryman Lorenzo Calcano held the third spot after similarly consistent showing in breezes that stiffened to 25kts, providing for thrilling battles in the high-octane format specially designed for the youth games where kiteboarding’s first Olympic medals will be awarded. Only local favourite China’s Haoran Zhang—like the rest of his team flying a distinctive kite made up of his national flag—was able to split the pair with a series of gritty and sparklingly quick races that saw him take a second and third spot in the day’s elimination finals. In …
Drama at Opening of TT:R Youth Worlds throws up surprises in perfect racing conditions
Costly mistakes by many of the favourites to take the titles at the 2018 TwinTip:Racing (TT:R) Slalom Youth World Championships in Hainan, China, threw up a few surprises at the top of standings after the first day of racing. After two frustrating, windless opening days, many of the young athletes seemed over-anxious and committed the cardinal error of crossing the start-lines early and were eliminated from heats or the all-important elimination round decider. As a result some, like reigning International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) TT:R Youth World Champion Sofia Tomasoni (ITA) and boys’ title holder Cameron Maramenides (USA), found themselves down the leaderboard. The pressure was magnified by a field stacked with the strongest TT:R talent as athletes from around the globe have gathered to fight for the eight remaining places for kiteboarding’s first medals at the Youth Olympics Games (YOG) in Argentina in October. Day three of the competition being contested on the warm waters of Bo’ao’s Asia Bay finally served up the conditions the 38 boys and 24 girls from 26 countries need for the high-octane downwind slalom discipline. The breeze quickly built from 12kts eventually hitting more than 20kts by mid-afternoon, seeing most of the competitors switch from …
Popularity of TT:R Slalom serves as perfect pathway to high-performance kiteboard racing
The appeal of the relatively new kiteboarding discipline of TwinTip:Racing (TT:R) Slalom for young athletes is underscored by the number of competitors who have travelled from all over the globe to battle for the Youth World titles in China. The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) TT:R Slalom World Championships—which also doubles as the final qualification event for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Argentina—sees 23 nations fighting for four spots in the boys’ division and 14 nations going after another four in the girls’ group on the tropical island of Hainan. For the 62 athletes all born between 2000 and 2003 the chance to land the remaining spots to compete for kiteboarding’s inaugural medals in Buenos Aires in October was an irresistible opportunity. The downwind TT:R slalom/boardercross format specially-developed for YOG to foster easy accessibility for young kiteboarders is proving a perfect springboard to high-end kite hydrofoil kiteracing competition among the athletes who have caught the racing bug. But on the second of five scheduled days of racing at the Youth Worlds the onshore breeze again failed to blow with sufficient consistency to allow any racing. But the forecast breezes for the closing three days appear good. For most of the …
Draw of Olympics kiteboarding glory prompts nations to field big teams
The lure of winning kiteboarding’s inaugural medals at the forthcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Argentina has pushed many countries to field large national teams at the TwinTip:Racing (TT:R) Slalom World Championships in China. For the first time in kiteboarding, big national squads backed by their national sailing and kiting federations have made the trip to Hainan Island’s Bo’ao in the hope their young racers can land some of the remaining eight slots for the games in Buenos Aires in October. While racing on the water is an individual effort, the racers, all born between 2000 and 2003, have been revelling in their national team identities. Even smaller nations with fewer resources have provided backing, including team clothing, to foster national pride. On the first of five scheduled days of racing at the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) TT:R Youth Worlds on Asia Bay, which will also serve as a YOG qualifier, the wind failed to climb above the required 10kts necessary for fair TT:R Slalom competition. But the forecast for the days ahead look good. The lay day under the tropical sunshine saw the 38 boys and 24 girls from 26 countries and six continents chill under the palm trees …
