Bernd Roediger spoke of the "best windsurfing day of the past decades", and that must mean something. After all, the man lives on Maui and won the PWA contest off Punta Preta earlier this year. The Hawaiian celebrated the IWT contest on Fiji in an emotional text after the first day of competition.
This was preceded by an almost week-long wait for the legendary Cloudbreak spot to come to life. In addition to down-the-line specialists such as Roediger, Morgan Noireaux and Camille Juban, Robby Swift and the father-son duo Björn and Liam Dunkerbeck were also invited and travelled to the event. The IWT was supported on site by the locals from the Fiji Surf Company, who probably know the spot better than most.
The local authorities had granted permission to hold six hours of competition on the reef on each of the three days during the ten-day waiting period. Even before the official start, most of the riders were out for the warm-up and showed the potential of the spot. But it was only in the last three days that the conditions allowed the heats to start.
The best pictures from the IWT contest off Fiji
"What happened yesterday was a first-class confluence of conditions that created an opportunity that every rider may have experienced at some point in their career or while travelling. The fact that this happened at a contest meant that everyone got to enjoy it at the same time. A shared dream come true!" wrote Bernd Roediger.
After a qualifying round and a kind of "probationary round" for the eliminated riders, four riders competed in each of the semi-finals. At the end of the day, Roediger, Morgan Noireaux, Camille Juban and Robby Swift reached the final in Fiji. But as fantastic as the conditions were, the wind disappeared just as quickly towards the evening. "We're going surfing in five minutes!" Robby Swift shouted to his opponent Bernd Roediger on the water, and that's exactly what happened.
Spectacular conditions in the final too
On the second day, when conditions were favourable, the women were allowed on the water. Only four of them took part, each competing three times: Jessica Crisp, Kate Barker Angela Cochran and Jane Seman showed off Cloudbreak that they have nothing to hide. In the end, Jane Seman, who had already taken part in the legendary PWA contest in front of Namotu in 1997, won. Second place was shared by Angela Cochran and Jessica Crisp ahead of Kate Barker.
On the last day of the contest, everyone involved had to be patient until the men's final could start. Bernd Roediger got off to a bad start and initially spent a long time on the shallow reef, which meant he could only manage fourth place. It was very close between team-mates Robby Swift and Morgan Noireaux, with Noireaux coming second in the end. This made it clear that the winner was Camille Juban! "This means a lot to me and to the whole windsurfing community. I hope it encourages other people to come here and start a contest!" he said at the award ceremony on the judges' catamaran. The trophy with the names of the winners will be on public display in Fiji.
Results IWT Pro Invitational Fiji
Gentlemen:
- 4 Bernd Roediger
- 3. Robby Swift
- 2nd Morgan Noireaux
- 1st Camille Juban
Women
- 4th Kate Barker
- 2 Jessica Crisp
- 2. Angela Cochran
- 1st Jane Seman
Masters (not official)
- 3. Simeon Glasson
- 2. Björn Dunkerbeck
- 1st Kai Katchadourian
