Irish Windsurfing Association Wavesailing Championships – Round 3

In moderate gusty winds and head high waves, Garretstown beach, Co. Cork
set the scene for a fine display of waveriding skills. A full fleet of
sailors made the most of the conditions, to complete a single round of
competition, despite occasional pauses in the running due to gusty
winds. In this event sailors were judges in 4 man heats by a panel of
judges, who awarded points for the windsurfers style of riding waves, much
like a ‘regular’ surfer. As the winds were too inconsistent, no scoring
for jumping was possible.

For the first time ever, the ‘Fun fleet’ also equalled the size of the
‘Gold Fleet’, showing promise for future events as the development of the
sport improves.

Defending Irish Wavesailing and Freestyle Champion Oisin van Gelderen
(Dublin), kept his chances alive for this years Championships, by taking
the win on Saturday. This was an important result, as going into the
event, he was trailing in 2nd behind Finn Mullen (lurgan), the winner of
the previous Round in Achill last month. As both now have a first and a
second place to count on their score cards, they currently share joint
1st place overall on the ranking list. This makes the final Round in
Belmullet, Co. Mayo (Oct Bank Holiday weekend) even more important, as
whoever comes out on top, will be crowned Irish Wavesailing Champion for
2005. Belmullet traditionally produces the biggest waves and strongest
winds of the entire series at that time of year, so stay tuned for an
interesting end to the year !

For more information on Irish Windsurfing, go to
http://www.windsurfing.ie

Event Results, Top 5:

Gold Fleet
1st Oisin van Gelderen (JP/Neil Pryde)
2nd= Finn Mullen (Severne)
2nd= Rob Crean (Severne)
4th Jeff Cochrane (AHD/Neil Pryde)
5th Pearse Geaney

Ladies Fleet:
1st Noelle Doran (JP/Neil Pryde)
2nd Anna Ryan
3rd Maureen Johnston

Fun Fleet:
1st= Mark Colaci
1st= Mark Killeen
3rd= David Norman
3rd= John McCurdy
5th= Johnathan Sykes
5th= Colin Shanahan

Current IWA Wavesailing Championships Rankings, Top 5:
1st= Oisin van Gelderen
1st= Finn Mullen
3rd Rob Crean
4th Jeff Cochrane
5th Gwilym Williams