PWA Fuerteventura
End of PWA World Cup Freestyle Fuerteventura! Another great year here in Fuerteventura full of wind, excitement, emotions, fun, and great action!
After a lot of training and giving it all to be on my top level of strength, endurance, overall condition, mobility/flexibility and etc. I’m feeling strong and fit physically and (due no more injuries) mentally!
Yet it was not my time to rise to the top of the rankings. After struggling through many injuries that was keeping me off the water, I am more then happy to not be feeling any of injuries anymore, and to be feeling stronger then ever on the water!
To be able to be stoked out on the water doing and pushing the crazy freestyle level we see on the water.
Finishing this event puts me on the 11th place overall of the PWA Freestyle World Tour ranking, I am not too stoked about the result but happy to be up there with the top freestyle level.
Read all about my world Cup Fuerteventura story below ..
I took off to Fuerteventura a little earlier then usual due the great windsurfing conditions expected there every summer, for a fuerte warm up and gear tune up for the PWA World Cup. I got there 8 days before the competition, and on the first day I was already enjoying the awesome windy conditions. Within a couple of days I tuned up all my sails and boards ready for competition and was training and preparing up hard for the contest. Big thanks to Rainer from ETM physiotherapy on Fuerteventura for letting me use his gym every morning for me to complete my last peaking point performance training preparing for the world cup.
Next to training off the water to keep myself strong and injury-free, I was able to hit the water at least 2 to 3 sessions per day. I felt great on the water with my moves but the crazy canary island wind was blowing and flying me away a lot and I felt like I really had to get used to sailing on the water with my smaller sails again, and to be sailing is such strong winds. Everyday I felt improvement on the water and felt more and more ready, and could not wait for the competition to get started! After a whole week of training so hard on Fuerte, I took a good rest for my body to be at 100% for competition, as I knew there is a hard week of competition ahead of us with an crazy strong forecast of wind for the first days of competition.
The PWA World Cup started off on the 22nd of july and the wind was ultimately strong! We did registration in the morning that day and started off with the single elimination freestyle in the afternoon. Wind was blowing over 40+ knots and we we’re all flying out there!
first day started off though for me, I was not finding my ritme in my heats, I still managed to pass my way through some heats but wanting much more from myself! I placed myself on the 9th place of the first single elimination and was ready to keep fighting my way up in the double elimination. As you read motivation is up high! And I could not wait for the next round to start off for me to keep going..
The double elimination got started the next day and the wind was still howling, personally I love the rough and strong conditions out there and I was feeling confident. I started off my first heat, and was flying around like I should, I was able to find some great ramps in the contest area, jumping around shifty’s, push loops, massive shaka’s and back loops to the outside and sailing a solid routine with consistent moves on the inside, putting down some mad routines. As I advanced my way though some heats I still felt like I was sailing a little sloppy in some heats and ended up losing against my fellow island friend from Bonaire.
Losing that heat taking me out of the elimination was a big upset for me, but knowing more days and more eliminations are to come the motivation to win was only getting more & more!
As the next day came the wind gave us a big surprise and completely dropped, sure we saw this forecasted on the the forecast but we did not expect the wind to be completly dead! Luckily later in the afternoon conditions we’re kicking in and we were able to start off our new single elimination, but due the lack of wind we we’re only able to finish the first round on that day, hoping for better wind conditions the next day.
Next day of competition the wind kicked in perfectly in the morning but was still tricky to run a contest in. Wind conditions was just right on the edge to compete and we started off the heats. My heat started off and I was giving it all to win, my heat was very light wind but I didn’t mind and was feeling great and fit on the water. I was leading on the live scoring, but right on one of the the last minutes of the heat they decided to postpone the heat and wait for better wind conditions, but sadly we ended the day with no wind meaning no heats being finished. I was very upset with the wind due wanting to make up for my result, but all hopes up for the next day which was the last day of competitions for us for the wind to kick in for one more chance!
On the last day of competition the wind was again just right on the edge, we really tried our best to get some heats done on the water but the wind conditions we’re just not working out. I had already seen it coming but yet I was still very down about not getting another chance. Finishing this event putting me on the 11th place overall of the PWA Freestyle World Tour ranking, I am not too stoked about the result but happy to be up there with the top freestyle level.
Further I was very stoked to see my fellow Bonairian friend Amado Vrieswijk on top! And not to just see Amado up there but also to see another young gun up there Yentel Caers! Further also a big congratz to Gollito Estredo for his great performance and consistently being up there in the top!
For me, Back to training as hard as I can in every way & every day to be in top condition to come back harder every time and to one day make it to the top!
All the best,
Youp Schmit.