GWA Wingfoil World Cup Tarifa 2023
Tarifa (GMT)
11 October – 14 October
Discipline: Surf-Freestyle
Saturday 14th October 2023
Today is the final day of our event in Tarifa. The competition is already complete, so we will be holding our prize giving ceremony at Dunas Beach Resort from 5pm. Come by and join us!
Friday 13th October 2023
13.00 – The best trick competition is over! Nia Suadiaz and Chris MacDonald took the win. That’s a wrap for competition here in Tarifa but you can join us at Dunas Tarifa at 5pm for our closing ceremony!
11.30 – Good morning from Tarifa! The main competition is now over, but today we plan to run a “best trick” competition if the conditions are suitable. If you are in the area head down to Valdevaqueros Beach and join us!
Thursday 12th October 2023
17.30 – That’s a wrap for the GWA Wingfoil World Cup Tarifa! We will be hosting the closing ceremony on Saturday so stay tuned for more details. Thanks to everyone for tuning in!
17.00 – Anticipation hung thick in the air as the final unfolded against the backdrop of the levante wind, lending an electrifying atmosphere to the climax of the GWA Wingfoil World Cup. Chris MacDonald wasted no time unleashing a barrage of colossal tricks, setting the stage for a compelling battle to secure his world title in Tarifa.
The intensity soared with each athlete pushing the limits, but this pursuit of greatness came at the cost of some spectacular crashes. As the 7th trick attempt approached, the scoreboard remained a tight battleground, with Chris maintaining a slight lead. Jerome, Malo, and Bastien were hot on his heels, making it clear that one substantial score could reshape the entire competition landscape.
In the decisive moments, both Chris and Jerome executed impressive tricks, securing solid scores for their final attempts. However, Bastien and Malo both succumbed to crashes on their final attempts, leaving the outcome hanging by a thread. In a triumphant display, Chris MacDonald seized his well-deserved crown on the shores of Tarifa, surrounded by the cheers of family, friends, and th spectators who had gathered to witness this thrilling event.
Bastien Escofet secured a commendable second place, closely followed by Jerome Cloetens in 3rd and Malo Guenole in 4th. With this victory, Christopher Mac Donald ascends to the top as the new GWA Wingfoil World Cup World Champion 2023 in the Surf-Freestyle discipline, etching his name into wingfoiling history.
The final results for the men’s division are:
1st Christopher MacDonald (USA)
2nd Bastien Escofet (FRA)
3rd Jerome Cloetens (ESP)
4th Malo Guenole (FRA)
16.12 – It’s time! The men’s finals are ON! Bastien Escofet, Jerome Cloetens, Malo Guenole and Chris MacDonald.
14.57 – Things were heating up for the first semi final of the day where Bastien Esfofet went all in, landing trick after trick. The icing on the cake was his Backmobe to fronside 3 which gave him 10 points, the first time we have seen that combination in competition. Chris Mac Donald once again landed 4 very high scored trick, and locked down his spot in the final, keeping his chances of become World Champion at this event alive.
14.30 – Semi-final 1 is now on! This is an important time as Chris MacDonald has the possibility of becoming World Champion in this round if Axel Gerard and Malo Guenole do not advance. Stay tuned!
13.40 -Christopher MacDonald once again placed himself at the top of his heat with his usual high-standard performance. Local Jerome Cloetens also advanced through after using his trademark move, the back-mobe, to give him the score he needed. We are now taking a short 15 minute break before starting the semi-finals.
13.15 – Bastien Escofet was fully focused this morning and advanced through after an insane heat wrapping it up landing a Frontside 10 with amazing power and execution scoring a perfect 10. Axel Gerard joined him in advancing to the next round.
12.58 -Luca Vuillermont and Noe Cuyala also secured their spots in the semi finals after knocking out Alexander Acherer and Clement Hamon in what was a very close heat between all four athletes.
12.30 -The action kicked off at midday with the traditional strong levante wind. Malo Guenole had a slow start to his heat with several crashes, but he quickly picked up pace at with his back-mobe he scored a perfect 10 points, and advanced through to the semi-finals together with Francesco Cappuzzo who narrowly managed to beat local rider Xavi Corr.
12.15 – The wind is absolutely pumping! For this round athletes have 8 trick attempts, but from semi-finals onwards we will increase this to 9 attempts.
12.00 – AP Flag is up and we about to go! First quarter final is Xavi Corr, Francesco Cappuzzo, Vinnicius Martis and Malo Guenole.
11.00 – Good morning from Tarifa! We are all set to go here and the first possible start will be at 12pm. We will be commencing with the men’s quarter finals and hope to advance through and complete the full competition today.
Wednesday 11th October 2023
18.48 – Francesco Cappuzzo and Clement Hamon are the last two athletes to qualify for the quarter finals! That’s a wrap for today. We will be back tomorrow morning where we hope to complete the full competition! Thanks for tuning in.
18.30 – Aleksander Acherer and Vinnicius Martins lock down their places in the quarter finals! We have one more heat today before we wrap things up!
18.25 – Ricardo Zorzi and Arthur Thebult are through to the quarter finals. Shock of the day – Alan Fedit is out of the competition!
17.50 – Ancor Sosa and River Moore advance to the quarter finals.
17.20 – Chris Mac Donald shows us why he is leading the rankings! He took the highest score of the day, 39.2 points. His Backflip to FS7 scored a perfect 10. He advances to the quarter finals.
17.10 – Jerome Cloetens overtakes the top heat score of the day so far with 31.88 points which includes his 10 point score for the back-mobe!
16.55 – Axel Gerard advances to the quarter finals with an overall heat score of 26.46.
16.36 – Bastien Escofet joins the quarter finals, after landing his a back-mobe for his final trick attempt scoring 9.7 points.
16.20 – Luca Vuillermet put on a solid performance and also jumps a round into the quarter finals.
16.10 – Noe Cuyala advances to the quarter finals.
16.00 – Malo Guenole, our current World Champion, advances to the quarter finals scoring an overall score of 31.88 points, the highest of the day so far.
15.40 – Xavi Corr lands the first back-mobe in competition scoring 9.7 points, and he grabs the first spot in the quarter finals.
15.25 – Young local River Moore also rode solidly in Round 2 and managed to advance through together with Solen Gall from France. Two other young locals from Tarifa joined them, as Nathan Berger and Lucas Roguet put down outstanding tricks infront of the delighted crowds at Valdevaqueros Beach.
14.45 – Men’s round 2 is now underway! The strong levante wind is still blowing strong.
14.15 – There was no holding Nia Suardiaz back as she entered the final with the same energy and determination that we have seen from our young World Champion throughout the season.
However, the level of her competitors matched her energy, and Orane Ceris, Mar de Arce and Bowien van der Linden put up a tough battle, each one determined to lock down their spot on the podium here in Tarifa. Each athlete pulled out solid tricks remaining close in points right until the final round of trick attempts. Nia landed her one handed backflip innovation trick giving her 10 points, and placing her at the top of the scoreboard, unreachable to her fellow competitors. Orane Ceris took 2nd place, Mar de Arce in 3rd and Bowien van der Linden in 4th.
13.30 – We know have our 4 female finalists – Nia Suardiaz, Mar de Arce, Bowien van der Linden, Orane Ceris.
12.53 – Men’s heat 2 sees Arthur Theboult advance directly to Round 3
12.35 – Mar de Arce and Bowien van der Linden advance through to semi-finals.
12.23 – Back to women’s quarter finals – Sofia Marchetti advances to the semi-finals with Marina Alabau.
12.15 – Men’s Round 1 is On! Heat 1 saw Spanish athlete Martin Tieles secure the top spot and lock down his spot in Round 3.
11.56 – Nia Suardiaz is already on fire this morning, gaining an overall score of 30.53 for her heat against Olympian Marina Alabau, including a 10 point innovation score for her one-handed back flip.
11.45 – Regaliz Sollom advances directly to the semi-finals over Sofia Marchetti and Charlotte Baruzzi
11.35 – Christina König advances directly to the semi-finals over Bowien van der Linden who will need to fight for a spot in the next round.
11.20 – Orance Ceris wins the first heat of the day, throwing down an impressive back flip scoring 7.97 points giving her the lead.
11.15 – The action is on! Women’s Round 3, Heat 1 is first in sequence. Mar de Arce vs Orane Ceris. The athletes have 8 trick attempts with their top 4 scores counting. Each rider has 30 seconds to perform their tricks.
11.00 – We have approximately 30 knots of levante wind blowing. Our first possible start will be at 11.15 am. If you are in the area come down and join us!
10.15 – Good morning from Tarifa! The levante wind is here and we are almost ready to kick things off. The skipper’s meeting is taking place now, and we should hopefully get started soon. There is unfortunately no live stream for this event but you can follow everything here on our live ticker!