Sa Ràpita crowns the winners of the IQFoil and Techno 293 Junior Spanish Cup

The Spanish IQFoil and Techno 293 Youth Cup has come to an end at the Club Nàutic Sa Ràpita (CNR) after an intense week in which the club has become the epicenter of national sailing, hosting a cup in one of the disciplines that will be an Olympic discipline in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

A total of 170 sailors from 8 autonomous communities competed at the CNR in the sub13, sub15, sub17 and Techno Plus categories. Half of them were IQFoil and the other half Techno 293. 

After the day of Monday, dedicated to measurements, preparations and first contact with the facilities and the regatta course, on Tuesday the 26th the races began, which were held in tough weather conditions, with a strong wind and two-meter waves, giving rise to very impressive and fast regattas. Although a dozen sailors had to retire, four races were completed for all Techno categories and five for the IQFoil categories.  "The weather forecast predicted a fairly strong wind on Tuesday, but it didn't exceed 16 knots. So we had five races. The first races were in course (course with a downwind start, which includes sailing on all possible courses, upwind, downwind and downwind), and we were also able to do slalom (course with a downwind start in which the average speed of 20 knots turns these races into very fast races for the class, lasting just 4 minutes). There are not many occasions when you can celebrate both modalities in a single day, and the fleet behaved very well", says Inés Cabrer, regatta officer of the IQFoil class area.

On Wednesday the 27th, however, the weather prevented the boats from leaving port. "Although the wind wasn't really too strong, the wave conditions, especially at the mouth of the harbor, were too rough, so safety took precedence over spectacle", says Tete Sabaté, race officer of the Techno Area.

On the last day, Holy Thursday, the day started with a wind of 24 knots and wave conditions of up to 3 meters that made the competition unviable, which is why the race committee decided to cancel the scheduled races and close the competition. In the afternoon, the trophy ceremony was held, with the attendance of the main authorities of the Campos Town Council, such as the Mayoress, Francisca Porquer, and the Councillor for Sports, Jaume Vidal, as well as members of the Board of Directors of the CNR, headed by its President, Pau Lladó. 

The CNR Sailing spokesperson, Nuri Bover, stressed that "from the club, we are proud of how everything went. Unfortunately, we can't control the weather, but otherwise, to be able to celebrate this awards ceremony surrounded by sailors from all corners of Spain is a great satisfaction. And the fact that Nacho Baltasar, a future participant in the Olympic Games, is handing out trophies to the winners, is even more so". Indeed, Baltasar, who this summer will become the first CNR sailor to participate in the Olympics, was one of those in charge of handing out the awards.

The winners of this IQFoil and Techno 293 Youth Spanish Cup were Martina Bárbara (RCN Gran Canaria) in Techno sub17, Max Consalvo (GEN Roses) in Techno sub15, Joshua Castro (CMSAP) in Techno sub13 and Álvaro Martín (RCN Gran Canaria) in Techno Plus. On the other hand, the winners were Sandro Portune (CN Salou) in IQ sub19 male, Azul Sánchez (RCM Melilla) in IQ sub19 female, Jordi Cerdà (CN Arenal) in IQ sub17 male and Martina Mantovani (RCN Valencia) in IQ sub17 female.

The rest of the results can be consulted at the following link: http://regatas.cnrapita.com/es/default/races/race-resultsall/text/copa-espana-2024-techno-293-o-d-techno-plus-iqfoil-infantil-juvenil-es/menuaction/race-inscriptions

This competition was held with the collaboration of the Balearic Sailing Federation, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation, the Techno 293 Class and the IQFoil Class, and the sponsorship of Puig, Quely and Nautimedia. In addition, the CNR has had the help of various clubs in Mallorca, which have provided logistical support such as inflatable boats and all kinds of regatta materials.

This is the second time that the club has hosted an event of these characteristics, with this celebration being one of the most important dates in its 2024 calendar in the field of sailing. This is a year of great logistical and sporting challenges for the CNR, which is consolidating its position as a benchmark club in the field of dinghy sailing on a national and international scale. 

This Spanish Championship has served as logistical and organizational preparation for this year's big sporting event at the CNR: the IQFOIL Junior World Championship to be held from the 26th of October to the 2nd of November. On these dates, the club will host for the first time a competition of these characteristics, which will bring together some 400 sailors from 31 different countries during 6 days of regattas. 

In this way, the CNR is now on its way to the World Championships, with all the lessons learned from this Spanish Cup and the club's logistical capacity perfectly trained, tested and greased in preparation for the great sporting event of 2024.