The Swedish Henric Wigforss was the best among boys and Blanca Ferrando among girls in the World Cup of the Costa Brava (Photo Marc Graupera)

The Swedish Henric Wigforss and the Spanish Blanca Ferrando, from the Real Club Náutico de Valencia, have proclaimed themselves champions, of the World Optimt 2023, in the World Cup of the class that has been held in waters of the Costa Brava, by the hand of the Club de La Ballena Alegre de Girona, and by the Federaciò Catalana de Vela.

A very complicated championship because of the lack of wind. For three days the fleet was left on the ground without being able to sail. On the fourth day, the committee decided to launch the World Team Conference. Spain, with Blanca Ferrando and Edu Reyes on the team, achieving a brilliant silver medal after a very disputed final with Italy. The national combination made the final move after winning to the United States.

In the individual series, with three days and two tests in each of them, the wind was the main protagonist, sad protagonist. The second day with a wind role of more than 40 ° in which many teams protested the committee, being White one of the harms, going from the 6th since it had at that time to fall to square 64. In the last one the Valencian tightened a lot achieved two top 15, so he was in the gold group.

The very young regatist of the Royal Nautical Club of Valencia, which is only 13 years old, has been made with the world-wide scepter in a last day of infarction, in which the Valencian has gone out in the last test leading to 12 and 17 positions for its two direct rivals... Blanca, to this world title, adds the silver medal in the World Team (Photos Marc Graupera)

In the final series, which have started today with only three completed tests, the Valencian maintained a minimal advantage over the Portuguese Mariana Pinto and the Croatian Ema Grabar. He knew what he had to do and he did it, especially in the last test in which it was necessary to take advantage of at least 10 positions, since it was not 10 but 12 and 17 respectively on the two rivals and with it, Blanca Ferrando, proclaims himself in a brilliant way World Optimist champion 2023.

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2023-06-23: Optimist World: Italy wins in the final by teams to Spain

It has been a frenzy race, with a lot of team strategy and difficult wind conditions... Finally, the Italians have overcome the Spaniards by reaching a final final race that has been decisive for just two points (Photo Marc Graupera)

Italy has proclaimed itself the champion of the world of children's sailing, category Optimist, after overcoming in an exciting final race the combined of Spain. Both crews, made up of four regatists each, have been confronted after they have gone over the previous expulsions. The Spanish team has left out such powerful selections as the United States, which reached Sant Pere Pescador with the world title, and Singapore, which has three titles.

The Spanish combination is made up of the Baleares Hugo Rodríguez and Beatriz Quintana, the Valencians Blanca Ferrando and Eduardo Reyes and the Catalan Joan Domingo. His good performance today has exceeded the third place achieved in 2014 in the world of Argentina.
The third position has been for the United States, which has been imposed on Croatia's combined in the final consolation.

Tomorrow is the eighth and final day of this World Children's Sailing Championship, category Optimist, with the individual races that will serve to proclaim the world champion of the modality. After the six series contested so far, the US regatists are presented as firm candidates for podium positions, currently occupying three of the first six positions in the general classification. At the front is Travis Greenberg, who is showing himself the most regular in all kinds of conditions, and the title of world champion must be held with his own companions and sailors from Sweden (Henric Wigforss), Croatia (Bepo Duplancic) and Thailand (Chanatip Tonggum) who follow him closely. The first regatist of the Spanish delegation to the World Championship is Hugo Rodríguez, in the ninth position of the general. Both he and his teammates will come out with very high morale after the success achieved today.

2023-06-22: World of Optimist La Whale Alegre: there are no two without three... third day cancelled

Optimist's international association meets on the Costa Brava to decide the international competition calendar of this category

The strong waves in the morning and the lack of wind in the afternoon, after the storm that has swept the Empordà, have prevented (F that the tests planned for the sixth day of the Optimist World Championship were held.

As Enric Agud explains, meteo adviser of the event, a very powerful low pressure from North Africa has caused situations of strong tidal, unusual for the summer time in Roses Bay.

The Organization is confident that tomorrow, with the entrance of the north wind, you can enjoy good navigation conditions for the two remaining days of competition.

In this way, the races that have been postponed so far move to the next two days, when the championship reaches its decisive phase in both individual and team category, and with apparently favourable weather forecasts.

In the framework of the World Children's Sailing Championship, category Optimist, the campsite La Ballena Alegre de Sant Pere Pescador has hosted the annual assembly of the International Association of Optimist, attended by representatives of 55 countries from all over the world. The international race and competition calendar for 2025 has been established in the assembly, and according to which the Optimist World Championship will be held in Slovenia in two years. Next year, taking over Girona and the Costa Brava, will take place in Argentina, in Mar del Plata.

2023-06-21: World Cup of Optimist La Whale Alegre: for the second day the state of the sea prevented competition

There is a saying of the men of the sea in Galicia, which reads: "Gaivotas en terra... mariñeiros a merda..." and that is what happened for the second consecutive day on this spectacularly beautiful Costa Brava (Photo Marc Graupera)

The tests planned for the fifth day of the Optimist World Championship have had to be postponed, due to the strong waves that have prevented the ships of the young regatists from entering the sea. Like yesterday, the organization has waited until well into the afternoon to see if the conditions were becoming more favourable for the practice of navigation, but it has not been so and has had to postpone the competition for the second consecutive day.

The forecasts suggest that tomorrow the final series programme of the individual category can be resumed, which is expected to be held for three days until the best regatists in the world in the child category are proclaimed on Saturday.

The organization is working to be able to recover the elimination series by teams that were to be held yesterday and today, but had to be postponed. If conditions accompany, they could be held between tomorrow and Friday, at the end of the individual races... so far the statement of the Organization... good intentions do not lack... another thing is that it is possible to recover two days...

2023-06-20: The Marethon of the Costa Brava prevents the holding of tests today at the Optimist World Cup

The United States national team, which with six sleeves held has in Travis Greenberg the current leader (Photo Marc Graupera)

The fourth day of the Optimist World Championship has had to To be postponed by the impossibility of being able to compete in the proper security conditions in the area of the beach of Cortal de la Devesa, in which the waves have allocated dangerous dimensions for the fragile and young optimistic who are in the World Cup. So everything goes on, just as it ended on Monday.

The Spanish Team on the day of forced rest on the merry Whale... (Photo Marc Graupera)

The forecast is that Wednesday will resume the competition program recovering the race planned for Today... the race director, will propose a new format of meetings, which will allow the team racing, with the title of world champion at stake... for el Thursday, the race field will again welcome the final series of the individual championship, already with the athletes framed in their gruPos.

2023-06-19: The Hugo Rodríguez Ballet achieves two first, and the gun in the Optimist World Cup

The Hugo Rodríguez Ballet, was imposed on the last two sleeves of the individual qualifying series... four of the five regatists of the Spanish team pass to the gold group of the World Championship (Photo Marc Graupera)

Today they have completed the qualifying races in individual category of the World Children's Sailing Championship, category Optimist, which is held in Sant Pere Pescador, on the beach of the Cortal de la Devesa. After a cloudy morning, which did not allow the thermal winds to be made with the control of the Bay of Roses, at two o'clock in the afternoon it was possible to leave the first of the two sleeves of the day.

The best sub-16 regatists in the world, from 56 countries, have been familiar with the race field and with the changing conditions of this place on the Costa Brava, which has a particular orography that makes it unique and exceptional to navigate. Today they have found a wind of east and north-east provenance of only 6-8 knots, conditions of navigation to the limit of little wind, which has forced the sea team to yield to its highest level so that the young regatists could compete in the best conditions.

When the participants have returned to the ground, the overall results of the three days of qualifying sessions, during which the six sleeves planned, have been defined. This has been a very productive day for the Spanish team, with the victory of the shooting Hugo Rodríguez in the two seaweed sleeves, results that have allowed it to climb positions in the classification. He has also raised positions, and now is the fourth best girl, the Valencian Blanca Ferrando, with a fifth place in the second sleeve. The Spanish combination consists of five regatists - three boys and two girls - who occupy the following positions: Hugo Rodríguez (Baleares) 9th; Eduardo Reyes (Valencia) 32nd; Blanca Ferrando (Valencia) 33rd; Joan Domingo (Catalonia) 36th; and Beatriz Quintana (Baleares), 79th.

In the general classification of this first series of expulsions, the American Travis Greenberg has been the dominant in front of the Swedish Henric Wigforss and the Croatian Bepo Duplancic; while in the female category the first after these three days has been the Portuguese Mariana Pinto, followed by the American Minx Anthony and the Croatian Ema Grabar, with Blanca Ferrando fourth.

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These classifications give access to the different groups of gold, silver, bronze and emerald, with which the three final days of the championship will be played, with the world title in play. Four of the five Spaniards, Rodríguez, Reyes, Ferrando and Domingo, will sail in the gold group and Quintana will sail in the silver group.

2023-06-18: The Croatian Duplanic new leader in the Optimist World Cup of the Costa Brava

Finally, after the one and a half of the afternoon the gunshot has been given out to the first of the two sleeves of today, still classifying of this World Optimist Championship, which is held in Sant Pere Pescador

Today the weather conditions have taken an unexpected turn, with an unusual wind of ponder in the bay of Roses that has forced the organization to delay a few minutes the start of the races of the day, pending the stabilization of its force and has had to rebalize the two fields of races.

The best sub- 16 regatists in the world, of 56 nationalities, have again been found in the field of regatas, with a south wind that has entered quite intensively over 20 knots, a factor that has tested the skill of these young sailors.

After the two new sleeves today, the Croatian Bepo Duplancic heads the classification, followed by Swedish Henric Wigforss, Greek Iason Panagopoulos, Thai Chanatip Tongglum and Italian Alberto Avanzini, forming a very compact Top5. Hugo Rodríguez is today the first Spanish to be ranked in position 17.

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Tomorrow Monday this classification formula will be repeated today, in which it will be the last of the individual classification days, to perform a parenthesis with the team competition. This will be resolved over two days, and from Thursday the final races of individual category will resume, then with the tables defined to choose the highest places of the podium.

2023-06-17: Greek optimist Iason Panagopoulos first leader of the World Cup of the Costa Brava

The Optimist World Cup opens with two races, in Catalan waters

Spectacular image of the 260 ships of Optimist this noon on the regatta field of the Bay of Roses, leaving from the beach looking for the starting line of the first day of the World Championship of Children's Sailing. The best sub- 16 regatists in the world, of 56 nationalities, have today debuted in the first of the three individual qualifying days, and they have found optimal conditions for navigation, with the typical thermal wind of this part of the Catalan coast.

After today's two sleeves, the Greek Iason Panagopoulos rises as the first leader of the classification, followed only one point by the Italian Andrea Demurtas, who is tied with the Croatian Bepo Duplancic who closes the first provisional podium. The tests scheduled for tomorrow, as a continuation of the individual title classification series, will undoubtedly define the first positions in the table. The first Spanish is Juan Domingo, who is 28.

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2023-06-16: The World Cup begins in Catalan waters, with 259 optimist from 56 countries

56 countries have been competing since tomorrow at the Optimist World Championship in Sant Pere Pescador, Roses Bay

It begins, under the organization of the Club de Vela la Whale Alegre de Sant Pere Pescador, the World Championship of Optimist that will last until next Saturday June 24, in the splendid regatta field of the Bay of Roses.

The international competition, which returns to Spain after 20 years of absence, will bring together 259 regatists of 56 countries, aged between 10 and 15 years. They are the best sub-16 regatists in the world, who would sail with the small one to individual boarding Optimist, which is the one of initiation to the sport practice of sailing par excellence.

2023 LIST OF GLOBAL OPTIMIST INSTITUTS 2023

Since the organization of the event, the celebration of this world championship for young people has been used to enhance the more formative aspect of the sport of sailing, with the focus on the axes of sustainability and social responsibility.