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wFriday, July 21, 2006 | |
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Double Daida in Pozo  So many pro windgirls... Daida goes for it, photos: PWA/Carter Event Summary (source: PWA) The wave action kicked off from day one, when the single eliminations of both men and womens competition started. Daida Moreno had Karin Jaggi (Z-14 F2 /North) snapping at her heels going into this event after a close run Guincho final. The ladies ladder had many freestylers trying their luck this year. But a face not seen in competition for some time gave firm opposition to the established players. Steffi Wahl (G-303, F2 /North) advanced from the early rounds to beat big-hitter Junko Nagoshi (J-11 F2 /Simmer). Also progressing well was local girl Nayra Alonso (E-4 Fanatic /Severne) who marched into the semi-finals and lost to Daida Moreno before meeting Jaggi in the losers final. The single elimination final was between sisters Daida and Iballa Moreno (E-63 Mistral /North). Iballa had done well to beat Guincho runner up Jaggi in the semi-final, but was unlucky against Daida in the final, where good waves were scarce and Daida jumping offensive was too much for her to match. The double elimination again saw a strong performance from Wahl, and also from Uli Hoezl (AUT-123), who met each other after Hoelzl beat experienced wave specialist Annemarie Reichmann (H-98 Naish /Naish). Hoelzl won and advanced to meet Alonso, but the Gran Canarians local knowledge and powerful riding style ended Hoelzls impressive run. Alonso then lost to Jaggi, before Jaggi in turn lost to Iballa Moreno. In the final, Daida started off with a textbook planing forward loop straight on the starting signal, which was immediately followed by a tabletop forward. Iballa replied with a Table-forward of her own, although hers was marginally lower. Daida then landed an amazing forward loop with one hand off all the way round, before pulling a lean double forward loop out of the bag! Iballa showed impressive wave riding skill and wave selection, but it was Daidas superior riding power and massive backside hits that earned her the higher wave scores, and a well deserved overall event victory. Freestyle There were rumors of new talent in the run up to this event. And right from the start of this contest these rumors were confirmed when some new names were seen out freesailing. Last season it was Sara Quita Offringa (ARU-91 Starboard /MauiSails) who showed up and shook up the scene with her fluid style and technical repertoire. This year it was Laure Treboux (SUI-4 Naish /Naish) who rocked the boat, showing outstanding skill with flowing routines of high-level tricks. There were some more experienced competitors too who had trained hard and pushed past some big names since last season, such as Yoli de Brendt (V-26 Fanatic /North), and Silvia Alba (E-67), who made their efforts pay off by finishing higher than established names such as Reichmann and Nagoshi. Two double-eliminations were run throughout the 10-day contest. Daida Moreno won the both finals in the first double elimination, and the crowd got a treat for the second final when Daida Moreno and Jaggi demonstrated just how high the level of womens freestyle is. Karin showed a full range of old skool tricks along with the usual spocks and grubbies. Daida was sailing fluidly and had pulled an amazingly clean grubby to back up her style ratings. It looked like Jaggi had lost despite her stronger diversity of tricks, but her technical score was boosted in the dying seconds as she made a super clean flaka heading out. The judges said it was one of the tightest finals they had ever judged but it was Daida who won narrowly on the style category. Daida made a typical start to the second double elimination final landing a forward loop within seconds of the heat starting. Moreno then really raised the bar by making a perfect clew-first spock 540, and a backloop. Jaggi had made a shuvit into a heli-tack, a forward loop and a one-handed spock. She also fought back by scoring a great clew-first spock 540. But Moreno had other ideas and then threw a perfect ponch right near the beach and the judges tower. It was a unanimous decision by the judging panel that awarded her another win. It seems no-one just yet has the firepower and range of tricks in their routines to challenge Daida Moreno, but the standard of the entire fleet has increased rapidly this season, with many challengers showing promise for the upcoming events. Treboux made an outstanding debut finish to her first ever PWA event by scoring a solid third in both doubles. Offringa was unlucky not to progress against Treboux when they met in the double eliminations final stages. In fact Offringa might well have advanced had she not performed a couple of her best tricks out of the official competition area. There is no doubt that at Pozo the traditional performers such as the Moreno Sisters, and Karin Jaggi prosper with their ability to make power moves in the rough conditions. Daida Moreno is no stranger to landing double forward loops, one-handed forwards and massive back loops within a freestyle heat. There is also little doubt she would perform in the new-skools preferred flat-water conditions too, with her ability to make flakas, ponchs and all the traditional flat water sliding tricks and more. Offringa and Treboux will no doubt soon be pushing harder for podium places, especially after further competition experience, particularly for Offringa who is only 16 years old and surely the main name to watch out for in seasons to come. posted by editors at 7/21/2006 04:54:00 PM |
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