PWA Pozo World Cup - Daida Ruano Moreno, Jane of all trades
by Chris Yates on 12 Jul 2013
Twins on their home turf - 2013 PWA Pozo World Cup John Carter / PWA
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On the third day of the PWA Pozo World Cup, it turned out to be another frustrating affair as the howling trade winds, which usually hammer Pozo throughout the summer months, continued to desert us in favor of uncharacteristically light winds. The sailors were eventually released at 4pm as conditions failed to develop.
With the wind and wave Gods still having not read the script for the PWA Gran Canaria Wind and Waves Festival we managed to catch up with one half of the legendary Moreno twins - Daida Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne):
PWA: This is yours and Iballa’s [Ruano Moreno (Starboard / Severne)] second year organizing the event, has the second time around been easier or more difficult?
DM: 'This is the second year that our club has organized the event, it is not only me and Iballa, luckily. It’s definitely been harder because last year we only had three months to organize the event, this year we had much longer and we really wanted to improve several aspects of the event. When you are trying to make things better it’s always much more work. In the end we spent eight months organizing the event, thinking about every little detail. Overall I think the event is much better organized than last year.'
PWA: Do you think with this being the 25th anniversary of the event that the titles are more special this year, with it being a historical landmark?
DM: 'Yeah, of course with it being the 25th year it is a historical and special event. I believe that every sailor who comes to sail at this spot wants to win the event title. Every year is important, but with this being the 25th anniversary and the silver wedding of the event I think it makes this year’s titles even more special. For me it would be special if I could win, but if that doesn’t happen then I would also be very to see my sister (Iballa) come out on top. We’ll be trying our best to be in the top three and we also need to see how it is with the conditions. At the moment it looks as though we will have three days of competition, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.'
PWA: How have you found trying to organize the event and training at the same time?
DM: 'Trying to train, organize the event and study at university has been my goal for the year and it’s been a bit of a nightmare trying to put it all together. It’s been a bit stressful at times, but I believe we will see a good result, and if we don’t then I still believe we have run a well-organized event, now we just have to cross our fingers and hope for some good conditions.'
PWA: What are you studying at university?
DM: 'I’m studying to become a physiotherapist, I have just finished my second year so I have two more years to go.'
PWA: When you were able to train this winter, were there any aspects of your sailing you were trying to work on in particular?
DM: 'This winter I’ve been trying to become fitter again. I’ve been training with Dario [Ojeda (Tabou / Gaastra / MFC)] for a few months and have been trying to sail as much as possible. We had a slightly weird winter, but overall I’m happy with the wind and the waves and I’ve been able to train a lot. I’m trying to pull off cleaner moves and the wave with my wave riding. I’ve been trying to go more radical with my shakas and frontside wave 360s, frontside aerials and I’ve been trying goiters. Last year Iballa was able to produce some decisive moves, which won the heats for her. Now I’m trying to pull those moves, but we’ll have to see what happens and I’ll try my best. With jumping I’m pretty confident that if I’m feeling happy and the conditions are good that everything will come together.'
PWA: Finally, what are your current favorite moves, both jumping and on the wave?
DM: 'For jumping I love throwing my pushloop tabletops. I’ve also been really close to trying pushloop tabletop forwards this winter, but it’s a tricky move. So far I’ve only seen Dario [Ojeda] pulling those. I’ve seen many pushloop forwards which are nice, but I haven’t seen them really tweaked apart from Dario. I haven’t tried it yet as it’s a really physical move and I’m still trying to visualize it fully in my head. In the waves I’m really trying to improve my shakas - not the freestyle shakas - but the proper backside wave 360 off the lip, some of them are coming along, so we’ll see.'
PWA: Thanks for your time Daida and good luck for the contest.
The forecast for tomorrow offers more promise than today - particularly in the afternoon/evening - so hopefully we will finally see the competition begin. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 10am tomorrow morning with the action commencing from 10:30am if conditions allow. PWA World Tour website
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