SIM 31st Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship 2012

[timkhoo]

Dear all,

the time has come again for the 31st installment of the Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship 2012. With SIM Global Education as the Title Sponsor once again, and 100PLUS as the Main Sponsor, the event which is held from 11th to 15th of January 2012 at the NSRCC Sea Sports Centre is set to be one of the biggest and most anticipated events in the region. The 2012 event will see Formula Windsurfing held as the chosen Asian Windsurfing Championship class, with the other classes like RS:X, Techno293, Mistral OD, Slalom and Raceboard competing under the Singapore Open umbrella.

For the first time ever, 2 new classes, the RS:One and the Free Formula class, will be added to the ranks of the regular Singapore Open classes. The Free Formula class is an experimental class targeted at the weekend warrior who doesn't own top-notch equipment nor wants to race up there with the strong competition of the Formula Windsurfing class. Any sailor can grab a big board and sail to compete in this class, which has no rules and a modified course with a shorter upwind and longer reach/downwind legs. Competitors in this class do not have to measure and register their equipment under same strict regulations of Formula Windsurfing. For the RS:One class, the target audience would be windsurfers who do not own their own equipment but would like to race in a more competitive daggerboard class than that of club-boards. This class is a recently development by Neil Pryde, being able to climb upwind with the use of it's daggerboard in lighter winds and able to plane comfortably when the wind is sufficiently strong. It has seen action early this year in the waters of Marina Bay during the Opening Leg of the RS:One World Tour. The RS:One is up for charter but do register your interest early as there are only a limited number of sets available.

Slalom sailors will be happy to know that next year's course has been modified to allow for less gybing and longer speed dashes. This means that recreational windsurfers who once shunned the race scene because of their lesser 'technical skills' can now compete and stand a chance of winning with their sheer straight-line speed! Also sailing under the Singapore Open banner for the 3rd year running, is the SIM Windsurfing Championships. This unique 2-day championship will see not just University students pit their skills against each other, but is opened to all students whether they are from the JCs, Polytechnics, ITEs or MOE schools.

Do spread the word around and for those who are training hard in preparation for the big race, you will not be disappointed. Medals and lots of product prizes are up for grabs. The Notice of Race can be viewed and downloaded at the Windsurfing Association Singapore website: www.SingaporeWindsurfing.org. Early entry ends 30th November 2011.

As always, Are You Ready?

Timothy Khoo (SIN-4)
President
Windsurfing Association Singapore

[P.J.]

Hi Tim

Many guys now own wider slalom above 85cm . Possible to include another class for the wider boards ( include formulas ) .
I guess the less experience formulas ( wkend warriors ) would prefer this over a modified upwind leg
This will allow us to have more races and more fun . Hope to gather some supports here ?

PJ

[fcuksurf]

i second that! no upwind no down wind  and no confusing marks, just chiong all the way!

[timkhoo]

Hi Tim

Many guys now own wider slalom above 85cm . Possible to include another class for the wider boards ( include formulas ) .
I guess the less experience formulas ( wkend warriors ) would prefer this over a modified upwind leg
This will allow us to have more races and more fun . Hope to gather some supports here ?

PJ

That's actually what the Free Formula class is for. The upwind is pretty short while there are long reaching and downwind legs.
Then again, knowing the kind of winds during SG Open, the only direction an inexperience sailor would be able to sail is upwind. Reaching and downwind on a big board and sail can see to it that Richard Mun's board repair business will flourish.

Formula Asian Champs will already see 16 races total, 4 races daily. Can we really take more than that in 20kts? That's the reason again why Free Formula was introduced so that those sailors who don't think they can manage that kind of pressure can still sail and try their hand at competing. Right now we have 4 courses with a total requirement of 29 boats. We don't have the sufficient support to run another course as the slalom course this year will be exclusive and not combined like in previous years.

[timkhoo]

i second that! no upwind no down wind  and no confusing marks, just chiong all the way!

You're talking abt free formula or slalom?
If you want to chiong all the way just sail slalom, plain and simple. Only 1 or 2 marks to gybe round. But be reminded that you will be bound by IFCA Slalom rules which have equipment limitation.

[Denis Wee]

But be reminded that you will be bound by IFCA Slalom rules which have equipment limitation.

Tim,
IFCA equipment class rules are quite restrictive. Many slalom boards do not comply. That means some slalom sailors cannot take part.

[timkhoo]

But be reminded that you will be bound by IFCA Slalom rules which have equipment limitation.

Tim,
IFCA equipment class rules are quite restrictive. Many slalom boards do not comply. That means some slalom sailors cannot take part.

We could look into relaxing certain rules especially when it comes to old boards. However, it would be outright unfair if we don't control board width, fin length and possibly sail size. No one wants Bo to be racing in slalom on his 10.7msq sail with a Formula board with 70cm fin.

[P.J.]

Assume the free formula is on a different course ? Is it a reaching or upwind start ?

Dennis - I do agree is not fair to put Slalom and Formula in the same class, but I wish they have a course for the wider boards to race slalom.
Looking back last few years, Though we hv NE , but the wind is still inconsistent for real Slalom racing .

[38 mph]

From first hand experience, its very hard to get new blood into racing and perhaps even more so for slalom or "fun" racing.
The less rules the better.
Perhaps consider leaving the Slalom without equipment limitations but EXCLUDE those registered for the Formula Class.
Good Luck !

[Denis Wee]

Tim,
I think you have misunderstood me. I was not talking about allowing boards wider than 85cm into the race. In previous years the sailing instructions had already limited the width of the boards and the length of the fin. I am referring to IFCA's requirement that all boards taking part have to be registered with ISAF and be approved series production funboards. Many RRD boards, Exocet boards, some Mistral boards and some Fanatiq Falcon boards are not so approved. Unless you specifically state in the SI that this rule does not apply, then such boards cannot be used.

[Denis Wee]

Dennis - I do agree is not fair to put Slalom and Formula in the same class, but I wish they have a course for the wider boards to race slalom.

Yes, PJ, lately there have been quite a lot of new slalom boards put out by manufacturers that are wider than 85cm. There is one from Starboards which is 93.5cm! Ideal for conditions in Singapore!

[timkhoo]

Tim,
I think you have misunderstood me. I was not talking about allowing boards wider than 85cm into the race. In previous years the sailing instructions had already limited the width of the boards and the length of the fin. I am referring to IFCA's requirement that all boards taking part have to be registered with ISAF and be approved series production funboards. Many RRD boards, Exocet boards, some Mistral boards and some Fanatiq Falcon boards are not so approved. Unless you specifically state in the SI that this rule does not apply, then such boards cannot be used.

Yup i completely understand where you are coming from. That was 1 of the reasons why this year's Asian Championships did not include the IFCA Slalom class. Besides the fluctuating winds that we have, going strictly by ALL the class rules is far too restrictive for our sailors. There is no official measurement and inspection for the slalom class in SG Open and as such, as long as the equipment complies with the board width, fin length and sail size requirement aspects of the rules, all else can be compromised.

[timkhoo]

PJ: Free formula will share the start line with Formula AWC but they will have a different upwind mark and a different course to run about. It will have an upwind start with long reach and downwind legs. We do not want to make the course too technical (Pulsar course) as the whole idea is to promote more racing from the sailors who own the not-so-current formula gear.

Also for the bigger boards (85cm width up but not formula) to do a course like slalom, it wouldn't be practical just to run a course for them as they constitute a really small fleet. Even if we do let them race the same course as slalom but on a different start, i don't think we'll get more than 5 sailors there. We could consider this but i need to know what kind of interest there is before i dump resources into this sub-category. Do let me know if you can gather more than 5 sailors there as there is a minimum participation to constitute a division.

38mph: Yes we all know how difficult it is to get everyone involved in racing. I don't think it's a good idea to allow all slalom equipment to race together in the same fleet without limitations and simply exclude the formula boards. It's all in the name of fairness because as long as there are boards planing with 10kts of wind, the Race Official has to start the race. Those on narrower boards (85cm width) may not be able to plane yet. For example, i could use a 10.7msq sail on a 93.5cm width board with a 66cm fin to race, plane through and win, while the poor guy on normal slalom gear would have no chance. This might back fire and even put some people off racing.

[38 mph]

Now I'm in a right muggers buddle.
I cant deciede which Class to go for........
Or maybe I should simply do the Ledge to Lancelin instead (14 Jan) ?
Then if I do either of those, I cant get to the Boracay Cup on 16 Jan.
Perhaps the Port Klang PWA Event will materialise and I can go there and rescue Dunkerbeck from the mud.

[timkhoo]

Windsurfing wins 3 medals in the 2011 SEA Games...! Congratulations to Leonard Ong (RS:X Men's 3rd), Audrey Yong (RS:X Women's 2nd) and Amanda Ng (Mistral OD Women's 3rd)...! You have done Singapore Windsurfing proud!

Also congratulations to TC Chua and Shaun Pow (Mistral OD Men's 5th)!