Race Championships took place for the first time in southern Sardinia from October 2. – 8. Participant turnout was impressive, with a total of 153 men and 42 women fighting it out for the honor of the 2012 Championship titles.

„The championship of new developments“ could have been the name for this competition. New rules, a new valuation system, many new faces and the presence of trainer boats from the national sailing associations on the water all marked a new era for the sport of kiting. The fact that kite-racing has now become a part of high-performance sailing was illustrated by the participation of Dorian van Rijsselberge, Olympic Sailing Champion 2012.

Several heats were planned due to the high number of participants, three mens and one womens. The men’s races from day one and two were counted as a qualification series. Based on the performance, different heats for gold, silver and bronze were created for the finals. The results over all three days of competition were evaluated for the womens final standings.

Light thermal wind conditions prevailed on the first day of competition. Flysurfer team rider Christine Bönniger chose her Speed3 CE 19m² and managed to secure 4th place overall, pretty impressive considering that she was riding with deep infected wounds on her foot.

With strong wind and high wave conditions on the second day, the kite of choice was the Speed3 12 m². Although Tine fought with the hard conditions, she was not able to prevent sliding down to 6th place in the overall standings. The forecast for day 3 was similar. But after two races the winds eased up, so Christine chose a Speed3 15 m² and stepped up her rank from race to race.

The last heats to determine the medal winners were awaited with great tension. The top ten women and men were sent out on a slightly shortened course with two

© by Stephan Hertig

poles in windward and lee. The prior rankings were counted as one race with two more heats to be fought out on the shorter course. Taking part in the medal races, Flysurfer team rider Christine started out in 6th position. The offshore winds with wind speeds between 5 – 20 knots led Tine to choose a Speed3 19m², proving to be a good choice as there was no wind at some points. Christine gave it her usual top effort, missing 3rd place in the final race by only a few meters behind Caroline Adrien (FRA). In the end she managed to reach 5th place in the overall ranking.

The race has now reached an elite level. The level of competition has risen and the materials have matured. Christine has proven that she is one of the best women athletes in the race discipline. Surely she will continue to stay on top, hopefully even for the competition in Rio in 2016.

Copyright of photos: Stephan Hertig