Saturday’s extreme weather conditions of 10ft waves and gale force winds pushed
the amateur sailors to their limits in the finals of the Ireland Wave Open Competition
at Brandon Bay, Castlegregory. This event acts as the qualifier for the PWA
professional competition, which begins on Monday 8 October.

The Wave Open, which ran from 4 ­ 6 October is a joint Sports Media Ireland
(SMI) & Irish Windsurfing Association (IWA) international competition set
up to enable the top eight qualifiers to compete against world class wave sailors
in the main event, the Ireland PWA 2001 Wave Grand Prix, sponsored by Sport
Ireland, the Irish Tourist Board.

Competitors for the Wave Open travelled from all over Europe and the United
States to have the opportunity to gain qualification for the PWA competition,
but the event was dominated by the Brits who took six of the eight wildcards.
The qualifiers in winning order are: Nathan Mershan ­ USA, Andy King ­
UK, Rasmus Mose Baltsersen ­ Denmark, Lee Sheaff ­ UK, Tom Buggy ­
UK, Terry Luxton ­ UK, Jan Sleigh ­ UK, Danny Seales ­ UK.

Terry Luxton, one of yesterday’s qualifiers said, "The qualifier was an
exhilarating experience as the conditions were so challenging. This is my first
year of competing and I would never have anticipated getting this far. In competing
in the PWA event, I am now doing something I have always dreamed of."

The winners now have the unique opportunity to compete against the best in
the world, as only PWA registered sailors are eligible to compete in this elite
event that offers $60,000 in prize money.

The remaining four wildcards go to Ireland’s Oisin van Gelderen from Skerries,
Co. Dublin, Timo Mullen from Lurgen, Co. Armagh, Rob Jones, Castlegregory and
Peter Nunan, Cork. Based in Castlegregory, The PWA Ireland Wave Grand Prix,
which starts tomorrow, will be a roving contest on the Dingle Peninsula allowing
the competition to take place in the best possible local conditions on the day,
although it is anticipated that most of the wave action will take place in Brandon
Bay.

This is the second year that the Professional Windsurfers Association has staged
the event in Ireland, considered by some as one of the best windsurfing areas
in the world.