Photo Gallery: Albaria www.oceanphotography.co.nz Video 1st WOMEN REGATTA Video 1st MEN REGATTA

Windsurf: Olympic Class: RS:X - Male and Female
RS:X 2008 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
ALESSANDRA SENSINI WINS THE MEDAL RACE AND TAKES THE GOLD MEDAL IN NEW ZEALAND
TOM ASHLEY LEADS THE MALE CATEGORY
A clear win for Alessandra Sensini winning the World Championship beating the New Zealander Barbara Kendall and the Spanish girl Marina Alabau. Tom Ashley takes the title in the male category with Joao Rodriguez behind him, he won the last race taking over the Isralian Shahar Zubari. Federico Esposito finishes in 17th place, Fabian Heidegger 19th, Flavia Tartagliani16th and Laura Linares 17th, she was also the first in the under 20 category. These athletes put in evidence their capabilities, proving that they are able to compete in high level championships.
 

Alessandra Sensini	Tom Ashley

It was known that from the first day that it would be a World Championships that would be hard to forget. Right from the first race up until the last, which turned out to be a very sunny day in Takapuna, 5km from Auckland, New Zealand. The breeze should be the just right. Everyone is awaiting their turn to get in the water. The male category will go first with the female category following. Alessandra Sensini and Barbara Kendall will be competing for the highest place on the podium, they both have the same amount of points before the grand final. They both have three olympic medals to their credit. Kendall won one gold medal and two silver ones (Barcelona, Athlanta, Sydney) and Sensini one bronze medal in Athlanta and one gold medal in Sydney as leader of Albaria Windsurfing Club (Palermo) and another one bronze for the present Yachting Club of Genova.  The other four groups will race to define the overall results, but also a chance for many other athletes to qualify for Beijing, and to determine the results from 11th place onwards for the different categories, for the 200 ahletes competing, representing 48 nations.
The race field is ready. The race committee is perfect, on land and in the sea, placing the ten buoys that make out the route. The wind begins to intensify, "the city of sails", is everything for who specialises in windsurf. The media are all for the New Zealander's Kendall and Ashley. On the contrary of what happen at America's Cup no network is admitted into the race field. The winds picks up even more and the male category is asked to prepare to get in the water, a punctual call at 12 noon local time, midnight in Italy.
In the male gruop of sails two from French are clearly visable with another one from Portugal, two from Poland an Isralian and two New Zealanders amongst them. The position in which the race is to be held is perfect. At the starting line infront of the beach there is a great number of people, more than there has been any other day, in their boats filling up the area infront of the starting and finishing line.

The scanning of the seconds is amplified from whf radio from the different boats scattered around in the sea, on the beach the loudspeakers turned towards the dwellings of Takapuna. Lots of radios on the boats are tuned into New Zealand's National Radio station, that is broadcasting live Peter Mongomery's comments, "The Voice of America's Cup", who is on board of a boat reserved for media. His unmistakable voice can be heard, unfortunately the sophisticated television cameras of the America's Cup are nowhere to be seen, which would have allowed each phase of this Olympic Windsurf Competition to be seen. The points given in this race will be double. Three two one... they're off. The wind is blowing and it's Joao Rodriguez who seems the most determined in taking the lead.

On the field of the male Medal Race the athlete in the lead Tom Ashley controls his rivals. A victory for the Polish athlete Miarczynski, Dempsey second, Rodrigues third and Ashley fourth. The young athlete Tom Ashley takes the World Champion title with Rodrigues second and Zubari from Israel third. The ex World Champion Ricardo Santos gives up his title in this race not even making it within the first 10 positions in the overall results coming in at 25th place.
The celebrations are interupted at the start of the new fleet in the women's race. Everybody is cheering on Barbara Kendall, who has a really bad start and is behind everyone. Alessandra Sensini needs to get infront of her by just one position to win. There are three French athletes in the race with the Athens Gold Medal winner Faustine Merret, she already has a place in the Beijing Olympics, Marina Alabau and Blanca Manchon, both world champions.
Sensini has a good start and is the fastest. The Italian is leading and is already far away from the New Zealander, who was able to get her position back step by step. She comes second after outdoing the Spanish Blanca Manchon falling into the water near a buoy before she crossed the finishing line. Extraodinar comebak of the New Zealander who found herself on the day before the race head to head in the general results with Sensini. Kendall was able to gain time but not enough to beat the Italian, she crossed the finishing line with 12 seconds to her advantage befoe her immediate opponent, therefore taking the World Champion Title. A Gold Medal, taken with great class, with 5 races won out of 10, and always among the top ten in all the races held with the wind sometimes strong, sometimes weak and in the final race held very strong. Barbara Kendall took the Silver medal. The very good Blanca Manchon came in third in the Medal Race who had to catch up after falling. But it wasn't enough for her for Beijing. In the final race her team mate Marina Alabau is behind her, she takes Bronze and gains her entrance to China.
In the end the remaining athletes out of the top ten began their race and the results began to change, but other results are confirmed taking their place in the games in Beijing.

A slight change for the Italians in the general results for Federico Esposito (Lega Navale Italiana - Piombino) 17th, Fabian Heidegger (Marina Militare) 19th, Guido Carli (C.N. Bordighera) 83rd, Alessandro Giannini (Albaria) 99th, Marcantonio Baglione (Albaria) 104th and Michele Cicerone (Surf Club Torbole)  117th. Esposito showed great performances during this championship, even though he could have done better. He along with Giannini were penalised by a virus three days before the races that left them on the first day of the championship with a fever of 39°. In the female category Flavia Tartagliani (Fiamme Gialle) was 16th and Laura Linares (Circolo Canottieri Marsala) 17th. The young Sicilian athlete took the highest step on the podium after winning the Female Youth Title along with the British athlete Richard Hamilton who won the Male Youth Title.
The organization of the New Zealand World Championships gave prizes to the under 20 category in which another championship for this group is programmed. This championship is due to be held in Thailand, even if in the last meeting held on this international class, which took place in Takapuna, Palermo was mentioned as a possible alternative due to inherent problems in Thailand. So the next appointments for the RS:X Olympic Class will be in France for the European Opens. Then in Palermo for the European Open Team Race, Isaf Youth, the European Youth Championships in Palermo and then the Olympics.
 

Blanca Manchon (ESP1) e  Barbara Kendall (NZL15)		Start of Female Medal Race

The Sicilian Laura Linares (on the centre) 1st under 20