Torbole 293 Worlds preview - 500 sailors from 32 nations

by Elena Giolai on 15 Oct 2016 The Circolo Surf Torbole achieves the record for Techno 293 World Championship: there have never been so many competitors in a T293 class regatta!

The Garda Trentino is able to attract nearly 500 guys for this prestigious event held in Torbole from 22 to 29 October. 32 nations from five continents; Oman, Egypt and the nearby Austria for the first time ever at Techno 293 world championship, in addition to Mexico, Peru, USA, Brazil, Japan, India, Argentina, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong – just to name some of the farthest away.

Italy is among the favourites to win the titles together with France and Israel:

Giorgia Speciale, the locals Nicolò Renna, Alessandro Josè Tomasi and Edoardo Tanas, and Marta Monge are some Italian athletes who could get on the podium.

Saturday, the 22nd of October, the opening ceremony will start in Torbole with the Parade of Athletes and Coaches.

There is great expectation at the Circolo Surf Torbole for the event of the year, dedicated to young windsurfers: the Techno 293 World Championship is already the records’ championship, since nobody has never seen so many competitors in Techno 293 Class.

What helped the Techno 293 become such a successful Class Racing, was the propaedeutic board (exactly the BIC Techno 293) and the contemporary diffusion of this discipline among young people (the athletes are often the children of the pioneers of windsurfing in Italy and in the world).

Already in 2014, during the world championship in Brest, the record of 404 competitors was achieved; on Garda Trentino this number is well over, with nearly 500 competitors from 32 nations. There are three categories, with the respective male and female titles: Under-15, Under-17 and the new category Plus, from 17 years old and with no age limit. Despite the country's ongoing economic crisis, the Techno 293 Class Racing gradually increases from year to year, involving always new nations: Torbole World Championship is the evidence.

The choice of this period was due to the Autumn break of many European schools, which is during the last week of October. Even though this penalization, Italy will participate with 90 athletes, including at least a dozen potentially fighting for the podium. And Italy is the nation with the most titles attained during past events: 11 gold medals, won by U15 and U17 categories, from the first world championship played in Marsala in 2006.

Italian favourite athletes: Giorgia Speciale may go down in history

It will be an important world championship for Giorgia Speciale (SEF Stamura Ancona).

Giorgia, who has already won the Under-15 and Under-17 European Championships, as well as the Under-15 World Championship, would have just two goals: to reach the podium, becoming the first athlete to win a medal in all five years of activity or to achieve the Under-17 world champion title (second place for her last year in Cagliari), remaining the first athlete going to podium in all five years of activity.

However, it will be for Giorgia an unprecedented record in the history of youth windsurfing! Among other Italian favourite athletes, there are also the representatives of the organizing club Circolo Surf Torbole: Nicolò Renna, the winner of the 2016 Italian’s Cup (in the top ten in the Under-17 European Championship in Poland) and the other local Alessandro José Tomasi (Lega Navale Italiana Riva del Garda). Both are surfers by background, respectively Vasco Renna and Alessandro Tomasi, true pioneers of windsurfing schools on Garda Lake and in the world.

Even from the nearby Fraglia Vela Malcesine, the new European champion Edoardo Tanas can certainly aim for the podium among Under-15: he will indeed race in conditions that certainly knows well, since during the event (especially in this season) there will be a north wind, which usually blows well in his Malcesine. Among the Under-15 females also the Ligurian Marta Monge (Circolo Nautico Loano) can strive for the podium, since she was very close to win three months ago at European Championship in Sopot. Among the Italian team, chance to do well also for the U-17 Marta Tanas (FV Malcesine), Nicoló Gatti (Circolo Surf Torbole – the current Italian Under-17 Champion), Federico Ferracane (CC Marsala), as well as for the U-15 Lavinia De Felici (LNI Civitavecchia) and Gabriele Guella, flag bearer of the Circolo Surf Torbole .

Foreigners’ favourite nations: especially Israel and France

Israel and France, as well as Italy, are the strongest nations with the greatest number of competitors in the Techno 293 class racing. Among the Under-17 females, Giorgia Speciale will have to deal with the Israeli Shira Benbenisti (silver medal at European Championship) and the Polish Sulikowska. In the male category, the French Fabien Pianazza, the Israeli European champion Itai Kafn and another Israeli, Gad Matosevich, are the favourite athletes. Among the Under-15 females we have the Israeli Sharon Kantor and the French Jariel and Garandeau; among Under-15 males, the French Mathis Ghio, the Israeli Hillel, Zror and Leshed.

Bronzetti, the President of the Circolo Surf Torbole, is fully convinced that the key to future is investing in young people

With the new President, Armando Bronzetti, the Circolo Surf Torbole finds itself at a turning point: 'We are investing a lot in young people. They represent the future and that's why we are giving priority to the events dedicated to windsurfing youth excellence, clearly without forgetting those who come to Garda Trentino to train, to play and to race in their intended events.

It is continuously for young people that or turning point is also green. It will be an eco-friendly Championship: no plastic bottles, but spring water bottles and during the event we will use recyclable materials, to be in tune with nature that the Trentino offers. This is an essential teaching that young people above all must seize and impart to their peers.' – Armando Bronzetti said a week before the Championship.

And the active President doesn’t stop here: he’s thinking about the future with the RS:X Youth World Championship already scheduled for the end of June 2017. The RS:X is the Olympic board that came so close to victory in Rio with Flavia Tartaglini and with which the Olympic Alessandra Sensini has done much to shape the history of italian windsurfing.

Together for young people

Institutions, sponsors, partners, volunteers: all committed to best accommodate the wave of young windsurfers, who will come to Garda Trentino in late October.

During the 70s, many sailboard pioneers tested themselves in Northern Garda Lake with the first prototypes. And from the next week, a lot of sons of the same windsurfing pioneers will be the protagonists of an event that will go down in history for the highest number of participants.

Many people have believed in this event, which represents an essential project aimed at young people, new users and tourists for the next 40 years. A project developed with North Lake Garda Trentino, the Province of Trento , the municipality of Nago Torbole, as well as with BIC Sport company (which supports part of the technical organization), Hydro Dolomiti Energia, Cassa Rurale Alto Garda, Trentino Sviluppo, Conf Commercio and Bronzetti snc. A green and environmentally friendly project aimed to respect and enhance the territory.