+++ Hyeres (France), October 6th 2007.
Besides the spectacular windsurfing competitions itself, the IFCA Slalom World Championships 2008 in Hyeres (France) brought another interesting dimension: The participation of women in slalom is increasing significantly! Here in Almanarre the IFCA Class can proudly present 16 girls from seven different countries. This is the biggest participation in the women fleet for several years and proves that the International Funboard Class association is on the right track.
The participation of female competitors is an important factor for the success of the windsurf sport in the longer term. Other sports like tennis and athletics proved already how attractive women sport can be for media and spectators. For a "lifestyle sport" like windsurfing this is even more important. As a "pure sport for men" the potential of windsurfing is much more limited.
Comments:
Bruno de Wannemaeker (President of the IFCA): "I must be getting old....the come-back of all these beautiful competitive girls reminds me of early years of windsurfing where girls like Jenna de Rosnay, Nathalie Simon, Nathalie Siebel... were not only dominating the windsurf events but also appeared in glossy magazines on the covers. Some years ago a wise man said: if you want more men in the sport bring in the women and the men will follow. Let's hope that this is happening now!"
Matthias Regber (Director of the Windsurfing Office): "The participation of women is an enrichment for the events and the windsurfing sport in general. The images of attractive women performing spectacular windsurfing action helps to increase the popularity of windsurfing."
