The Freestyle Revolution

Windsurfing, a sport full of dynamic and strength, was dominated for decades by experienced windsurfers, who possessed sufficient physical substance. The huge athletic body of 36-fold world champion Björn Dunkerbeck was a synonym for success. With the new generation of windsurfers other attributes have become important: agility, playful easiness and elegance, by means of which the young wilds have managed to ascend the throne in the World Cup Circus and to chase the old generation off the yard. The youngest discipline in windsurfing, the Freestyle, was the trigger for this revolution.

From the Caribbean to the Local Quarry Pond

To do windsurfing intensively was suddenly possible everywhere because this new discipline can be practiced at every lake and doesn’t require strong wind or waves. Nevertheless, the leaders of the freestyle-revolution at first almost exclusively came from the most-dreamed-of destinations of the world of windsurfing. Examples are Diony Guadagnino (Venezuela), who could win the famous freestyle contest “King of the Lake” at the Italian Lake Garda at the age of 17, followed directly by the real initiator of the revolution, Ricardo Campello (Brazil). At the age of 14 the Brazilian resident of Venezuela already caused a furore with special moves which had hitherto been deemed completely impossible. In the eyes of the long-serving windsurfing elite the tricks of the agile newcomers looked like the reversal of the laws of physics.

Freestyle inspires the Youth

Young people who got into radical sports like snowboarding, BMX-biking or skateboarding were offered a new activity right in front of their door, because windsurfing no longer required gigantic waves or strong wind to be seen as radical. Together with Björn Dunkerbeck (Denmark), the windsurf legend and 22-fold world champion Robby Naish (USA) had been the emblem of windsurf sport and, furthermore, with only 13 years the youngest world champion of all ages in the discipline of slalom. Living in Hawaii, Naish caused the first big windsurf boom, whereas today the new generation of young people who ride freestyle is responsible for the new run on windsurf material.

Melting Pot of Trend Sports

While windsurfing had been threatened to become older and older over a large period of time, the new generation was enjoying trend sports like skate - or snowboarding, BMX biking or inline-skating. And that’s why freestyle windsurfing reached new extremes. The tricks of these trend sports were adapted and further developed within freestyle windsurfing by the first generation of young wilds around Ricardo Campello (Brazil), the New Caledonian Colin Sifferlen, who likewise was able to win the “King of the Lake” at Lake Garda at the age of 17, the Brazilian Kauli Seadi and the Dutch Remko de Weerd, inventor of several new maneuvers.

From a Fisherman’s Son to World Champion

It was the Hawaiian Josh Stone who travelled to the Caribbean island Margarita, with its marvellous shallow water estuary El Yaque, for photo and video reportages, and who set the impulse for what was then to follow with his first “new school freestyle maneuvers”. It started in a minor key and should transform a whole sport. A sheer windsurf boom broke out among the children of the small fishing village El Yaque on the Isla Margerita. Due to their playful easiness and the rhythm of Merengue and Salsa, which they had in their blood for generations, the fishermen’s sons of El Yaque quickly became the first stars in freestyle. Not only did Ricardo Campello become vice world champion at first go and then three-fold world champion in a row, Diony Guadagnino, Douglas "Cheo" Diaz, Alexis Zabala, Colette Guadagnino and the youngest freestyle world champion in the history of World Cup, Gollito Estredo, who all come from El Yaque, have become “the” emblem of freestyle ever since.

Venezuela vs. Bonaire

Like in a time lapse, the next generation matured and with it the competition only some hundred kilometres away on the Caribbean island Bonaire, which by now should have become number one talent factory for freestyle. The shallow lagoon at Spots Lac Bay, together with ceaseless wind and the fact that the manuevers, which had been celebrated in various windsurf videos, could only be realized in shallow water brought about not only the number one World Cup riders Tonky and Taty Frans, as well as Kiri Thode, but also magnetized the youth of the whole island.

Therefore, it is no wonder that the World Championship for the new blood in freestyle is carried out every year in Bonaire, because most of the number one new blood talents are already there. For the El Yaque freestylers, the new stars of young windsurfing, a friendly rivalry arose between them and their Caribbean competitors. The World Championship title in freestyle almost became a Caribbean competition between Margarita and Bonaire. It was only for the Brazilians Kauli Seadi and the World Champion of 2007, Marcilio Browne, that this duel was transformed into a competition of three participants.

Europe is ready to start

The Europeans so far couldn’t place themselves in front row, but the two-fold European champion Andre Paskowski (Germany), the series board world champion Norman Günzlein (Germany), as well as the French riders Anthony Ruenes and Thomas Traversa, have already proved that outside South America freestyle is practiced at the highest stage as well, and that in the near future there could be a world champion without Latino blood in his veins.

The next Step

While the forerunners of the new generation more and more realize their ideas in the waves, too, and by now cause a furore there as well, at every estuary world-wide numerous new young talents can be admired, who will surely lift freestyle to an even higher level and amaze the world of windsurfing in the future. Freestyle and the new generation is the rejuvenating cure for a trend sport which was threatened to be heeled or even rolled over by other trend sports.

Links

Further Stories about the topic:
Youngsters on the tour – The Young Wilds
KeikiSurfer – Talent Factory of Windsurfing