AWT event off and running…almost

As wind surfers from across the region will attest, Saipan catches the same winds as Hawaii, and while the geography at Micro Beach is at just the right angle for launching straight out into strong side shore winds, yesterday’s conditions proved to be anything but ideal.

The afternoon action of the Marianas Open was canceled due to poor wind conditions, as organizers said that while there was wind in the area, the easterly direction meant it could not reach the event site with enough consistency to make for a quality outing by participants.

A crowd of onlookers and participants enjoyed the bright sunshine with their fingers crossed in hopes of a shift from the west without any luck, but they were quickly cheered up when one of the sponsors, Foster’s Lager, provided free refreshments near sundown.

The local kite surfing competition failed to materialize as a result of the winds from the east, but there’s still plenty of time for the main event— a downwind windsurfing slalom with prizes consisting of money and Neil Pryde equipment. Categories include Professional Men, Professional Ladies, Men’s, Ladies and Masters’ (40 years old and above).

The Marianas Open is one of the longest events of its kind, and the five-day event still has plenty of wind in the sails. As the fourth event on this season’s Asian Windsurfing Tour, it fits into the larger group of the region’s biggest windsurfing events, such as the Monsoon Madness in Kuantan, Malaysia, the Mana Mana Amslam in Bintan, Indonesia, the Boracay Funboard Cup in Boracay, Philippines, and the Ulsan International Windsurfing Championship in Ulsan, Korea set for May 27-31.

The competition on Saipan is downwind slalom with the fleet of sailors crossing the line in unison and traveling down wind around a series of buoys to the finish line. The first across the finish line is the winner.

Through the season competitors at each event earn points towards the overall Adecco AWT Championship and at the end of the season a new Asian Champion is crowned.

The Marianas Open, and all the events on the Adecco AWT for that matter, is being filmed for international television and in all, the event will reach an audience of over 150 million households around the globe.

For more information on the Adecco Asian Windsurfing Tour visit their web site at www.asianwindsurfingtour.com.