Qualifications to the Youth Olympics Games Dakhla 2018
DAY 1
Dakhla Attitude hotel is proud to be an official sponsor for the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympics Games Dakhla 2018.
From 20th to 25th of February 2018, Dakhla Attitude hotel is hosting 61 young riders, their parents and coaches. 32 boys and 18 girls from Europe and 8 boys and 3 girls from Africa, all under 19 years old, registered to the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympics Games Dakhla 2018.
There will be 8-person heats each 6 minutes. All participants are allowed to use only traditional twin-tip kiteboards and tube kites. The event will be quite intense with a fast and furious downwind slalom race format. Also, the challenging wind conditions are coming up so let’s see what happens in the next days.
Take a look at the official event video from first day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympics Games Dakhla 2018 from TwinTip: Racing.
DAY 2
DAY 3
The third day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018.
There was no wind all day so the race could not begin. 61 young riders under 19 years—50 from Europe and 11 from Africa, are participating in the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018. It is the second event after Cabarete, Dominican Republic, and will be followed by another in Pranburi, Thailand, for the Asia and Oceania region.
On the windless day, all young riders had a chance to meet a group of children from Dakhla who came to this event to share the stoke of kiteboarding. After having an art class, all local kids were learning basics of a kiteboarding. Aziz Ouakrim, a local kitesurfing instructor and a member of the “Association of Dakhla Lagoon”, said this event is a great opportunity for local children to discover kitesurfing and give them example for the future.
The wind forecast looks promising for the next three days so expect to see a lot more action!
Take a look at the official event video from the 3rd day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018 from TwinTip: Racing.
DAY 4
DAY 5
The fifth day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018.
On this day, there were 3 complete races and the wind was ranging from 18 to 25 kts. It was clear that all riders have gained more confidence as well as knowledge about other riders and racing. There are two important parts of TT:R competition, start and penalties.
A good start is a key element for getting ahead of all the competitors and winning the race. There are no exception for penalties, all riders were penalised for touching other riders’ kites at the tight mark roundings. On the final day of racing, we will see who have mastered these two elements.
Take a look at the leaderboard after the second day of racing:
Top three boys European division (after five elimination rounds, two discards)
1 Toni Vodisek (SLO) 3pts
2 Benoit Gomez (FRA) 5pts
3 Lorenzo Boschetti (ITA) 6.5pts
Top three girls European division (after five elimination rounds, two discards)
1 Sofia Tomasoni (ITA) 4pts
2 Nina Font Castells (ESP) 6pts
3 Sveva di Marcellinara (ITA) 8pts
Top three boys African division (after eight races, three discards)
1 Pieter Botha (RSA) 5pts
2 Jonas Ouahmid (MAR) 8pts
3 Terje Magnus Groenewoud (RSA) 11pts
Top three girls African division (after eight races, three discards)
1 Rut Gouws (RSA) 5pts
2 Johane Botha (RSA) 9pts
3 Assia Roussafi (MAR) 15pts
Watch the official event video from the 5th day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018 from TwinTip: Racing.
FINAL DAY
The final day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018.
On the last day of racing, Dakhla delivered hard conditions due to strong and variable winds. It was intense day for all riders as they were pushing limits and fighting on the water till the very last minute of the competition. It was a great day for Morocco, as national rider Jonas Ouahmid won the race and he qualified Morocco to the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires this October. Meanwhile, in the girls’ African division, Rut Gouws from South Africa won the first place. On the European podium, Sofia Tomasoni from Italy was dominant in the girls’ European division during all competition, so she took over the winner’s title even before the last race. There was more tension in boy’s European division, where Toni Vodisek from Slovenia won against France’s Benoit Gomez by less than one point. Congratulations to all the winners, participants, organisers and authority! Its been 3 days of intense competition at Dakhla Attitude!
Take a look at the final leaderboard of the qualifications to the Youth Olympics in Dakhla:
Top three boys European division:
1 Toni Vodisek (SLO) 9pts
2 Benoit Gomez (FRA) 9.9pts
3 Maxime Chabloz (SUI) 15pts
Top three girls European division:
1 Sofia Tomasoni (ITA) 6pts
2 Alina Kornelli (GER) 12pts
3 Nina Font Castells (ESP) 12pts
Top three boys African division:
1 Jonas Ouahmid (MAR) 12pts
2 Pieter Botha (RSA) 15pts
3 Terje Magnus Groenewoud (RSA) 24pts
Top three girls African division:
1 Rut Gouws (RSA) 8pts
2 Johane Botha (RSA) 15pts
3 Assia Roussafi (MAR) 22pts
Watch the official event video from the final day of the continental qualifications to the Youth Olympic Games Dakhla 2018 from TwinTip: Racing.
Video about Moroccan riders from Dakhla Events.
We would like to thank our sponsors and partners who made this event happen! They trusted us, they supported us, they believed in us! Special thanks to media, press, audiovisual press and of course organisers!
#DakhlaAttitude #YOGDakhla #Dakhla #Kitesurf #DAKHLAJOJ18 #IKA #KitesurfMaroc #LagonDakhla #YOG2018 #Morocco #ONMT #MDJS #AINATLAS #MJS #SNRT #AGENCEMAP #2MMAROC #CNOM
Photo credits: Ludovic Franco