ORIENT BAY—Antigua’s Tiger Tyson (17) won the Kitefoiling category on the third and last day of the first Caribbean Foiling Championships. The much-anticipated event was marked by frustratingly light wind for the time of year.
Competitors from around the Caribbean and abroad were still able to demonstrate their levels in foiling, highlighting the promising skills of the youngsters who were competing in the same category as the adults
Joining Tiger on the podium at the prize giving was second placed Olivier Blottiere from Martinique and Loic Brismontier from Guadeloupe.”
“It was very light as I only had a 15 sq. metre kite and some competitors had 20 sq.metre kites,” said Tiger afterwards. “I really enjoyed the course. You need a proper strategy to get to the departure line and go around the buoys. It can make a big difference.”
On a sunny Sunday morning, the same course was set in Orient Bay as for Saturday: a sprint slalom course between three buoys spread out in the bay. With just 10 knots of wind it was racing on very flat water.
Four races of two laps each were judged by the race committee. A couple of competitors could not finish the last lap of the race due to the wind dropping. Two riders in the leisure category, Cora Maziere and Matthias Heierli, raced among the professionals with their pump-out kites, in order to try and score the most points as possible.
Each race was completed in under 10 minutes depending on the size of the kite and turning choices made by each rider. The fastest completion of the two laps of the course recorded was six minutes by professional athlete Tiger Tyson. His top speed was 51 kilometers (28 knots) and showed what a rising star in the Caribbean Kitefoiling world he is becoming.
Some riders were not able to compete at all because of the light wind. “I trained every day for this championship and for the first time in 20 years in February we have less than 10 knots of wind here,” said disappointed St. Martin rider, Stan Rodriguez.
The Windfoilers did not get enough wind to compete on Sunday but enjoyed participating in the championships. Bruno Kancel from Guadeloupe who came in first following the race of Friday around Tintamarre said: “I am trying to get more small events happen in Guadeloupe, and with the official side, the Caribbean Foiling Championships is the perfect format”.
Eliott Pierre-Heym (18) from St. Martin, finishing third in Windfoiling, said he couldn’t wait for next year to race again in more wind.
Organizers, Sacha van der Wouden and Maxim van den Pol thanked sponsors and supporters, those who helped out on logistics and safety, the volunteers, and competitors coming all the way from different islands, the race committee, for making the first edition of the Caribbean Foiling Championships happen.
Organisers are convinced that this event is good for the island as the last contest in kitesurfing took place three years ago and was not specifically dedicated to foiling which is a growing and exciting sport and will be included for the first time in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
