17 (!!!) female competitors and incredible strong freestyle performances by the "windgirls" will grant this PWA freestyle in Fuerteventura an entry in history books of female freestyle windsurfing for sure.

 
spock mania: Daida, Karin, Silvia; all photos: PWA/Williams, Christian Tillmanns

final results:

1 RUANO MORENO Daida E-64
2 JAGGI Karin Z
3 ALONSO Nayra GC-4
4 ALBA OROZCO Silvia E-67
5 FREITES DE BREND Yolanda V-26
6 OSTROWSKA Ania POL-00
7 MALYSHEVA Olga RUS-1
8 HOELZL Uli AUT-123
8 PAVELIN SONIA K-278
8 TJERNBERG Marie Edlund S-166
11 KATHER Susanne E-102
11 VOGT Claudia AUT-23
13 HAUSBERG Andrea G-212
14 PETERSMANN NATASCHA SA-2
15 STEVENS Ann Kathrin G-200
15 TJERNBERG Nina S-165
17 VAN DER VALK Femke NB-05

The Fuerteventura event was a great indication of how much the feminine side of the sport has moved on in recent years. With seventeen competitors in Fuerteventura, it is one of the most heavily subscribed contests for a while and there is a lot of new talent. Including the stunning Tjernberg sisters from Sweden, the beautiful Ania Ostrowska from Poland as well as a strong Austrian contingent in the shapely form of Claudia Vogt and Uli Hoelzl.

By the time the girls had been reduced to the final four however, it was all the big names that remained. Karin Jaggi, Nayra Alonso, Sylvia Alba and Daida Moreno. Jaggi and Daida Moreno finally secure their places in the final. Daida pulled off a one handed Spock to which Jaggi immediately replied with the same. Jaggi attempted a Grubby to which Moreno responded with an even faster one. Both girls crashed their Flaka attempts, but with one handed forward loops it was Daida who convinced the judges taking the final victory.

On the second day of competition the ladies took priority, with the action going straight into the womens double elimination round. Sonia Pavelin made it past 2 of her rivals only to be taken out by Claudia Vogt. Yolanda Freites De Brendt from Venezuela, also competing in her first PWA event, also made it through to eventually go down to Nayra Alonso. Yesterdays third place lady, Sylvia Alba maintained her place in the contest taking out Ania Ostrowska who has shown real potential both here and recently in Lanzarote.

Daida: incredible table top forward & technical willy skipper combis

So the quarter finals of the double would be a repeat of yesterdays losers final and Alonso took revenge and moved ahead to take on Karin Jaggi. Alonso was on a roll and continued to show great fluidity as she went up against the Swiss veteran. In the end it came down to a split decision this time favoring Alonso as she made it into her first Fuerteventura final. With weapons such as One Handed Forward Loops, Spocks and Flakas at her disposal, Daida is once again setting the standard for womens windsurfing and placed herself at the top of the tree winning the double elimination final of Round 1.

Day three another final showdown between Jaggi and Daida Moreno. The fight was so intense that at one point Jaggi nearly collided with Moreno whilst blasting downwind, clew first looking for her next trick. Close to the end of the heat, Moreno ducked the sail to go clew first and after briefly wrestling to control her equipment, planed powerfully through a clew first Spock, a technical move that guaranteed her the edge. In the end there was no dispute as the judges once more awarded victory to Daida Moreno.

Day four: In stark contrast to her first round position, Natascha Petersmann from South Africa, found herself in the top six, to face Sylvia Alba whilst Nayra Alonso went head to head with Yolanda Yoli Freites De Brendt all four looking for a place in the quarter finals.

eternal battle: Karin Jaggi versus Daida Moreno; furious freestyle fleet: 17 "windgirls"!!

Alonso and Alba have both shown great improvement in the last twelve months and their Vulcans and Spocks stood them in good stead to fight off the challenges from Petersmann and Yoli to meet each other in the quarters. Both girls fought hard for a chance to tackle Jaggi, but it was the high wind talent, bred in the waters of Gran Canaria that carried favor with the judges and gave Alonso her shot at glory. Jaggi however was having none of it. The former World Champion opened fire with both barrels, Spocks, Grubbies, Clew First Spocks; the barrage was relentless! Jaggi faced Daida Moreno in the final once more.

With Alonso out, Moreno was assured of the event win, but Jaggi was ready to rumble. The final opened with Forward Loops from both girls followed by a Spock from Daida, but she fell hard, overpowered on too big a sail. Jaggi pushed the pace and would obviously not quit, Moreno landed a Back Loop, but immediately after Jaggi countered with a great Flaka on the way out giving her the win and forcing a rematch.

Second time around, the girls were better prepared and Moreno looked more confident. Unusually for the World Champion she fell on her first two moves whilst Jaggi struggled successfully through a Clew First Spock. Both girls splashed down on their Flaka attempts and Moreno looked as though she may have sewn up the second round as she unleashed her secret weapon, the Ponch, a move that none of the other girls are doing. Unfortunately there were no happy landings and again she found herself swimming. Jaggi had achieved what had seemed impossible and clawed victory back in the second round.

Daida Moreno has really made her mark on Freestyle in 2004 and with 2 event wins in the bag she is looking very strong to renew her World Championship. For that she will have to wait until next month when the Freestyle tour concludes in Pozo in August.