Surf Lounge Ibiza Holds European Flow Championships
They say money can’t buy you happiness; but it can buy you a trip to Ibiza. Europe’s top Flowboarders descended on Surf Lounge Ibiza in the heart of the world famous San Antonio Bay. Competitors arrived from Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the UK and the most famous of European Nations – Australia.
Ibiza is one of the top flow destination in the world for flowboarders and recently the European FLOW Tour Championships were hosted by Surf Lounge Ibiza for the second consecutive year and once again the event raised the bar for flowboarding in Europe.
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During practice, the day before the contest, disaster struck! One of the FlowRider pumps cut out and couldn’t be restarted. The Surf Lounge team reacted quickly, calling out technicians who flew in from the UK who, with the aid of a crane, worked all the way through the night in a mammoth effort to get the wave running again. Even Ramon, the Surf Lounge CEO, could be seen in a wetsuit crawling around inside the wave.
Despite some technical difficulties with the wave, the Surf Lounge and FLOW Staff remained calm, worked together and was dedicated to follow through with the competition. After hours of maintenance and overnight efforts from the crew the competition was still a go, however, there was a twist…
The Surf Lounge Ibiza FlowRider wave attraction is a FlowRider Double (Two Pumps). With one pump being out of commission, the competitors were confined to a single pump or half the regular riding area than they were practicing on regularly leading up to the competition.
“Riders were forced to adapt to the new conditions, changing their style to suit the (now) single wave,” explained Sam Powell (2015 European Bodyboard Champion) when we asked about the challenging conditions.
“All in all it was a great event.” explains Jeremy Carlier (European FLOW Tour Representative) “I really admire the effort everybody makes every time again to get it all done together,” he added.
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“The exposure was great too, which is good for the venue in the beginning of the season. It’s always fun time in Ibiza and we hope there will be a World Flowboarding Championship (WFC) event sooner or later at this epic location,” states Carlier.
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Along with sunny weather, great crowds, and plenty of other exciting things to do in Ibiza, Surf Lounge was turned into a sporting arena and things quickly began to heat up on and off the wave!
“The turnout and atmosphere at the event was incredible, and gives a superb demonstration of the progress that the sport of Flowboarding has made in Europe,” states Powell. In between heats, competitors and spectators enjoyed entertainment from live bands, banter from Jeremy Briden who had reprised his role as MC for the event and generally soaking in the Ibiza vibes.
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With everything to play for, as several of last year’s top riders (including two defending champions) couldn’t make the contest through other commitments, it left the top of the podium wide open! As the Ibiza sun glistened overhead, the athletes really stepped it up, pushing each other harder than ever.
“It was sweet revenge,” states Adam Wildman as he re-claimed the European FLOW Tour Bodyboarding Title and will represent FLOW Team Europe at the World Flowboarding Championships.
The sun has set on another European Championships at Surf Lounge Ibiza, but flowboarders can’t wait to come back! As always we want to thank those who make these events possible, not only Surf Lounge Ibiza but also various sponsors and partners who contributed to the events success.
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Thanks to the contributing sponsors, the European FLOW Champions earned themselves a round trip ticket to the World Flowboarding Championships and a seeded entry into the event to represent themselves as individuals and their respective countries
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Watch the Video:
Official Results and Podium Photos can be found here:
http://www.flowboarders.com/flow-competition/ft16-european-flow-tour-results/
Facebook Photo Album:
https://www.facebook.com/surfloungeibiza/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1796935917205526
Contributing Writers:
Adam Muller
Sam Powell
Jeremy Carlier
