Chile World Cup
The Chile World Cup kicked off with some dominating performances from upcoming juniors in chest-high swell at Matanzas, Chile.
Sol Degrieck (Severne / Severne Sails) set a new bar for Junior Girls, revelling in the uncrowded conditions as she showcased powerful bottom turns, critical lip hits and an aerial, proving she’s not only a top junior contender, but also a growing threat in the Pro Women. Degrieck was a standout of the entire day’s competition and was rewarded with the highest heat total of the day (12.90 points) and the top individual wave score - which almost went into the excellent range at 7.07 points.
Degrieck said: “It was good to sail without a lot of people. I got one really nice wave and I was happy to pull off an aerial and quite a lot of turns on it. I loved sailing with the other young girls. I was having fun on the water and that’s the most important thing.”
Noni Stuven, a young Chilean girl who is new to wave sailing, handled the conditions well to make her way into second place in the Junior Girls.
Ryu Noguchi (Starboard / Severne Sails) won the first round of Junior Boys with some rapid flow and aggressive turns. Noguchi had a solid start, scoring his best wave in the first few minutes as the young Japanese rider smacked lips, rode with rapid speed and connected multiple sections with an attacking style.
Noguchi added: “It’s difficult for me, because where I am from is starboard tack, but my first wave was good, I got a set and had good flow on it.”
Noguchi is still on a high after recently making the semifinals at the Japan World Cup in his hometown of Omaezaki, earlier this year in February.
“I was so excited after Japan. I still don’t believe the place I got, but I’m aiming to be the world champion in the Under 18s and I want to be in top 16 Pro Men.”
Second and third place was an ever changing battle between the two local Chilean grommets. Loïc Antoine Harfagar showed good wave selection and a surf style of sailing and looked like he was going to take out second place. However, towards the end of the heat, Francisco Markiewicz pulled off a critical move in the lip and to clinch second place.
The juniors will have another two leaderboard rounds to reach their final result.
Leaderboard 1 Results Junior Girls - Chile World Cup
1st Sol Degrieck (BEL | Severne / Severne Sails)
2nd Noni Stuven (CL)
Leaderboard 1 Results Junior Boys - Chile World Cup
1st Ryu Noguchi (JPN | Starboard / Severne Sails)
2nd Francisco Markiewicz (CL)
3rd Loïc Antoine Harfager Vita (CL)
4th Joaquin Prat
5th Ismael Labbé