2015 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships in Oman preview

by Oman Sail on 17 Oct 2015 2015 RS:X World Windsurfing Championships – The world’s top-ranked windsurfers descended on Al Mussanah Sports City in Oman this week in preparation for the championships, the final major meet before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.

National squads from 37 different countries around the world are already settling into their quarters at the Millennium Resort in Mussanah, which two years ago hosted the Laser World Championships to great acclaim.

In all, 145 athletes including 85 men and 60 women will be vying for the best breeze to sweep them into contention for either Olympic qualification or the elite pool of favourites for an Olympic medal, including Dorian van Rijsselberghe from The Netherlands who won the RS:X (Mens) gold medal at London 2012 and Bryony Shaw from Britain, the world number one’s woman windsurfer who won bronze at Beijing 2008.

The RS:X Class is also celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2015 so the event will play host to some of the most distinguished windsurfing officials in the sport such as RS:X Class President, Mr Carlo Dalla Vedova, plus coaches and representatives from most of the 37 competing nations.

“With the Olympic Games just a few months off, the RS:X World Championships will offer a chance for the world to see who could be winning medals in Rio as well as what Oman can offer as an Olympic-standard world-class racing venue,” said David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail.

Many of Oman’s windsurfing youth will also be watching closely, taking notes from the world’s best in action on local waters where their own careers are being nurtured.

Race management is set to comprise Omani umpires who were trained at Oman Sail’s sailing schools across Oman and who now officiate at events across the world, while the jury will be made up of Andrus Poksi (EST), Eva Jodlowska (POL), Pilar Lopez (ESP), Bas Edmonds (GBR), John Doerr (GBR), Llker Bayindir (TUR) and Gonzalo Heredia (ARG).

“Oman is fast-becoming one of the top venues for international watersports competition and it is not difficult to see why, since the conditions are superb and the organisation is top rate, so we are looking forward to our visit and to spending our 10th birthday at Mussanah,” said Carlo Dalla Vedova, President of the International RS:X Class Association.

The inaugural RS:X World Championships were held at Lake Garda, Italy, in 2006 while subsequent World Championship Regattas have been held in Cascais, Portugal; Auckland, New Zealand; Kerteminde, Denmark; Weymouth, UK; Perth, Australia; Cadiz, Spain; Buzios, Brazil; and Santander, Spain.

Racing for the 2015 World Championships will start on 19 October at Al Mussanah Sports City, which was completed in 2010 in preparation for the second Asian Beach Games. It is part of the Millennium Resort Mussanah which was specially-designed to accommodate world-class events and expand Oman’s tourism industry.

The week will kick off with an opening ceremony on 18 October and the event will conclude on Saturday 24 October.