“A blast” – Olympic iQFoil surfers fly in for the Travemünde Week

Buzzing like an electric car in acceleration mode, they fly over the water with the surfer greeting “Hang Loose” on their foils within sight of the beach. When Jens Kath thinks of summer, the last days of July, he already has this picture in mind. Another six months, then the surfers will fly in for the Travemünde Week (July 26th to 30th). Not somehow. The future Olympic class of iQFoils, which will surf under the sign of the rings for the first time in 2024, is at the start with the International Games in Lübeck Bay and more than 200 participants. “This is currently the most coveted class in sailing, everyone wants it. And then another event like this. It’s a blast, nothing more is possible”, TW sports director Kath is really excited.

Show races in the Trave?

Lanzarote, Cadiz, Campione del Garda, Torbole, plus regattas in China and Mexico. The surfer games are touring around the world through December. The Travemünde Week is the only German tour stop. “It is our top event in Northern Europe. We expect the world’s best athletes in Travemünde,” says class manager Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. The tour starts this weekend in the Canary Islands. In Travemünde, surfers pitch their tents on the green beach from July 23rd. Surfing takes place in front of the Brodtner steep bank. “If the wind allows it, we want to hold the medal races on the media track in front of the beach,” says Kath and gets enthusiastic. “And actually I dream of a few show races in the Trave, right in front of the Passat. That would be awesome.”

Fly over the water at 32 knots

The iQFoil surfers are the most innovative class that Olympic sailing has to offer alongside the kiters. Since the World Sailing Federation deprived the RS:X boards of Olympic status in November 2019 and awarded them eleven kilogram boards with underwater wings, the class has been flying high. Because flying one meter above the water on the boards at up to 60 kilometers per hour (32 knots) also inspires the broad masses. “I’ve also bought an iQFoil, I absolutely have to try it out,” says Kath, already impatiently waiting for better days.

Sebastian Kördel and Lena Erdil have their sights set on the Olympics

German figureheads are Sebastian Kördel (31) and Lena Erdil (32), both of whom start for NRV Hamburg. Kördel lives in Tarifa, in the Andalusian province of Cadiz, is fourth in the World Cup. Erdil is the prototype of a European – father Turkish, mother German, lived in Belgium, studied in England and now travels the world with the board. The Hamburg native, for whom the Kiel Fjord is her home ground, interrupted her World Cup career for the chance of an Olympic start.

Championships for Travemünde Week

World Championships: Formula 16

European Championships: Hobie Dragoon (Youth Class), Hobie 14, Hobie 16 (Youth, Spi, Open Class), Splash Red and Blue

International Games: iQFoil

International German Championships: Formula Kite, Finn Dinghy, Folkeboote, Dyas

German Open: J22

Sailing Bundesliga: 1./2. League

Swiss wires for surfing in Travemünde

Kördel, Erdil & Co. are now surfing to Travemünde. “We already have a great regatta program with German, European and World Championships in exciting sailing classes. The top event of the iQFoils rounds off the canon perfectly and shows the enthusiasm of the Travemünde Week for innovations”, says regatta boss Anderl Denecke. With race director Lionel Büttner – both are members of the Zurich Yacht Club (TW co-organizer) – he used the short connection to Lake Silvaplana to inspire the class for Lübeck. In Switzerland, surfers have been crowning world and European champions for years, and in Travemünde this summer, Germany’s first winner of the International Games.

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By Jens Pumpkin

Reference-www.ln-online.de