Boot Düsseldorf – Day 2 Recap
Wed 23rd Jan, 2019 @ 7:00 pm
From 10 o’clock the visitors poured into the halls. Freezing temperatures have the capital of Germany’s state Nordrhein- Westfalen firmly under control. However, those who wanted to forget and escape the winter for a couple of happy hours had the best opportunities in the Beach World in Hall 8a. The trend sports hall boasted a warm atmosphere and sporting highlights.
Wave Masters Women – Finals
After Saturday’s women’s first two heats, the showdown took place on Sunday. The final on the Citywave’s THE WAVE provide plenty of action early in the morning. Favorite Janina Zeiler could confidently take her lead in the runs on day one. And also on Sunday, she did not let anyone dry who was watching within range of the standing wave. Her 360 degree rotations swept over into clean turns. Despite her opponents running to peak peformances in the finals, also showing 360 rotations on the wave, none could jeopardize the leader. Johanna Lackner was able to fight Janina over the previous laps and finished second. Valeska Schneider finished the WAVE MASTERS competition in third place.
Statements from Janina about her victory
How did you experience the event?
“I am so happy that I won the Wave Masters for the third time! It was a lot of fun to surf with the other girls together in the final. I am already looking forward tot he next year! The judges have rated super fair and the contest went smoothly.”
What was the key to your victory?
“I think it’s all about the flow. So the more fluent you combine the tricks, the better they are scored and I already had an advantage that probably comes from surfing in the sea.”
Wave Masters Men – Finals
Not only the ladies finished their WAVE MASTERS competition on the first Sunday of the 50th boot. Also, the men demonstrated what is possible on a standing wave. Lennard Weinhold had already won his run on the day before and continued his winning streak. The 17-year-old from Munich showed risky tricks but landed many of them perfectly and convinced the jury with his style on the wave and thus secured first place. Second in the WAVE MASTERS competition came Joshi Holy. He managed to keep his nerves in front of the crowded ranks along the Citywave and surfed solid through his runs to the final. Simon Bitterlich from Munich won the third podium place. Already in 2018, Bitterlich has been able to prove that he has what it takes to make it to the top in the Riversurf scene by finishing second. The rotations and turns presented on the finaly day by the drivers on the standing wave where simpy impressive. All of them demonstrated with their maneuvers that they rank among Europe’s best Riversurfers. Once again, the 2019 Citywave has improved compared to last year.
Showdown At The Pool
During the Windsurf Tow-in competition among friends, the five guys from the German Freestyle Battles delivered a thrilling show on Sunday. At the wakeboard cable car, the spectators enjoyed action and maneuvers that otherwise would only be possible outdoor on the water and in a lot of wind. Born in Duisburg, Niclas Nebelung lived up to his role as favorite and secured himself the victory with a triple rotation ahead of Valentin Böckler and Jannes Thomsen. At the pool edge oft he 65-meter-long indoor pool, several hundred spectators lined up to cheer for the freestylers. The tow-in event allowed the spectators to experience extradordinary windsurfing under the roof of the hall. All five riders showed maneuvers that seemed, in a magical way to override some physics rules.
German Speedking – The Award Ceremony
The German Speedking Trophy is awarded to the fastest male and female windsurfers in Germany. At the German Speedkings, any windsurfer is allowed to register and upload her or his personal top speed, as measured by a GPS tracker. In the men’s competition, Roberto Hofman was able to prevail. In France’s La Franqui he swept across the water at a good 83 kilometers (51.57 mph) per hour. Second in general classification was Manfred Merle who also cracked the 80 km/h (49.70 mph) mark. Thomas Döblin was able to drive a good 78 km/h (48.46 mph) on the GPS clock in the North German Wadden Sea. The ladies also showed how fast they are „travelling“ these days. Here, Birgit Höfer could clearly put herself at the top. She achieved 68 km/h (62.25 mph) in La Franqui. Anne Schindler from Berlin secured second place with 60.7 km/h (37.71 mph), closely followed by Heike Kracke who reached 59.7 km/h (37.09 mph).
Talks On Stage
Victor Fernandez
Three-time Wave World Champion Victor Fernandez visited the 2019 boot Düsseldorf on Sunday afternoon to talk about his career and his goals fort he upcoming season. The likeable Spaniard will of course continue his windsurfing center in Almerimar in the South of Spain. Promoting yound talent remains to be a particularly important concern for him. Which is why he has organized a Youth World Cup in his hometown for the second time. Personally, he has decided to remain in the top oft he World. The logical goal of the current world’s number one – to win title number four in 2019 – the reserved Spaniard left unmentioned.
Robby Naish
When it comes to windsurfing, you simply cannot avoid the name, Robby Naish. Robby won 23 windsurfing world titles in the 80s and 90s. Today he also is a successful businessman with his Nash brand. But above all, he is a real Waterman! On stage, he revealed that he prefers to wear a wetsuit and harness rather than suit and tie. Even at an age of 55, Robby tries to be on the water as often and as long a possible, be that windsurfing, surfing, stand up paddling or kitesurfing, but the family has now taken a much more important role in his life.
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Björd Dunkerbeck
Björn Dunkerbeck also belongs to the windsurfing as the sail to the board. Björn can call a total of 42 World Championship titles his own. On the stage at the shallow water basin, he shared his philosophy of life in a relaxed round. He talked about what it is like to be a family man to drive the kids to sports training and not chasing the best windsurfing conditions himself. Nevertheless, Bjön, at an age of 49, is still regularly on the water, including at his own events. Also in 2019, there will be a Dunkerbeck SpeedChallenge. At selected events, such as the Defí Wind, Björn will also kick in himself again.
The Boot In Numbers
Around 2000 exhibitors are expected, 60 % of them from abroad from a total of 73 countries. The boot covers 220,000 square meters over 16 exhibition halls. 250,000 visitors are expected at the anniversary fair. More than 2,000 journalists will report from the world’s largest water sports exhibition.
About The Boot Düsseldorf
The boot Düsseldorf is the world’s largest boat and water sports fair. It’s annually held in January and well established as the meeting place of the entire industry. From 19 to 27 January 2019, the exhibitors will present their premieres, news and products on 220,000 square meters and take you on board for an exciting journey through the world of watersports. With offers from all the topics of boats and yachts, engines and their technology, equipment and accessories, services, canoes and kayaks, water skiing, water trend sports, fishing, maritime art, marinas, water sports facilities and beach resorts as well as charters, there will be something to discover for every water sports enthusiast. The fair is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Tickets can be ordered online at http://www.boot.de and conveniently printed out at home. At the same time, they can be used for free travelling with the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (regional transport network).
For more information about Boot Düsseldort, please click here.
