THIS PRESS RELEASE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SSM FREESPORTS, EHMAN PRODUCTIONS & AMERICAN WINDSURFER MAGAZINE
_____________________________________________________________________________
HAWAII WINDSURFERS SURVIVE DOUBLE ELIMINATIONS AT 16TH ANNUAL ALOHA CLASSIC
Ho'okipa Beach Park, Maui, HAWAII (Thursday, November 11, 1999) - After a stop and go kind of day, Windsurfers in the 16th annual Swatch Aloha Classic are working their way up the double elimination ladder to the finish of the $50,000 contest at Ho'okipa, Maui.
At the beginning of the day, there were 26 men's and women's heats to go but due to light winds the competition did not begin until 2:00 p.m. This was a good thing for the sailors, as it caused officials to extended the heats 20 minutes in order to allow sailors to catch five waves, two of which would count toward their score.
A real cliffhanger is building with the advancement today of California's Kevin Pritchard. If Pritchard wins the double elimination and world champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck only makes it to fifth in the double elimination round, Pritchard will claim the overall world title. If Dunkerbeck wins, it will be his 12th world title.
"I'm just hoping for some wind tomorrow," said Pritchard. "I'm looking forward to going through a lot of heats. I'm having no problem sleeping because I don't have anything to lose. If it's going to happen, it will happen."
Local sailors showed their stuff on their home turf, with Oahu's Scott Carvill, Jason and Josh Stone, Maui's Levi Siver and Kai Katchadourian, and Kauai's Paul Bryan advancing. Still alive and waiting to come from behind is Robbie Naish who has won the event five times (1986, '87, '89, '91, '92) and is notorious for coming from behind and pulling a win out of the hat. Another sailor to watch is David Kalama, who won the 1995 Aloha Classic.
"The faces were nice and smooth but the wind was a little lighter than it should have been," said Bryan. "If it had been a little windier it would have made a lot of difference. It was pretty difficult to try and do what you are used to doing and not have the power to do it. It's a frustrating feeling."
Freestyle World Champion Josh Stone said: "Around 4 o'clock on the thermal days it really starts to die, and that's what happened during my heat, so it was pretty much over.
I was barely getting enough wind. There wasn't even enough wind to get to "Middles"(an upwind takeoff section). I wasn't even able to go upwind to catch what there was."
The women did not compete today. Tomorrow Kailua, Oahu sailor Ke'ala Bryant will be sailing in a heat with Jenny Ellefson (USA), Nina Heiberg (Norway) and Karin Jaggi (Switzerland).
After tomorrow's finals a special super session wave jumping competition will be held, with many sailors from the single eliminations held earlier in the week. Sailors will be judged on air time.
Baywatch star Stacy Kamano will be on site Friday morning for photos and an autograph session, along with Swatch Pro Team members Rush Randle and kayak wave rider "Fearless Arndt Schefflin.
An awards ceremony will be held tomorrow at the conclusion of the finals.
On Saturday, professional surfer Conan Hayes will be conducting a keiki surf clinic at the Swatch Aloha Classic stage from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. All keiki are invited, but must be able to swim. Prizes have been donated by Swatch, Simmer, Hi-Tech and Da Kine Hawaii and Ehman Productions,Inc.
The event is sponsored by Swatch, Micron Computers, Zeal Optics, Simmer Hawaii, Hi-Tech, Servco Integrated Office Technology, Sobe Beverages and Steinlager Beer. It is sanctioned by the PWA and produced by Ehman Productions. The Aloha Classic is the longest running and most prestigious windsurfing event in the world.
Return to Updates >
