Assegnati i titoli di categoria per quanto riguarda slalom e freestyle, l’annata del PWA ci regala ancora due eventi wave da goderci da qui a fine novembre.
Già l’evento in Cile, novità di quest’anno del calendario wave, in programma dal 21 novembre al 1 dicembre, solleticava il palato dei wavers più esigenti… ma  chi l’avrebbe detto che il World Tour Wave sarebbe tornato a fare tappa tra le onde di Hookipa?!
Evidentemente non tutto il male viene per nuocere… dopo la cippa di Pozo i gran capi del PWA hanno probabilmente deciso di correre ai ripari e hanno fatto quello che da un paio di anni molti addetti ai lavori richiedevano a gran voce… e cioè creare una sinergia tra PWA e l’AWT, circuito americano che ha raccolto un pieno successo negli ultimi tempi.
Si è sempre detto che un world tour wave senza Maui era un world tour come minimo “monco”… beh, quest’anno siamo stati accontentati!
Dopo setti lungi anni una tappa wave del PWA torna alla mecca dal 24 ottobre al 1 novembre per la 2013 JP Aloha Classic!
Tra contendenti al titolo, graditi ritorni e vecchie glorie pronti a fare vedere che tra le onde di casa possono dire ancora la loro… pare proprio tra dieci giorni ne vedremo delle belle!
Date un occhio alle foto di uno degli ultimi eventi di successo svoltosi a Maui (The 2006 PWA Aloha Classic - Presented by - JP Australia © Pwa/Carter) e ditemi, guardando anche le attrezzature dei vari atleti, se non sembra passato un secolo!
Di seguito la presentazione ufficiale dell’evento e sotto vi riproponiamo l’interessante intervista a Sam Bitter, AWT Tour Director che il buon Cammar aveva raccolta lo scorso anno in occasione della Maui Makanni Classic, ultimo atto dell’AWT 2012 (numero di dicembre/gennaio 2013 di Wind News)!

JP Aloha Classic 2013
The right stuff for radical action at Hookipa!
The PWA is proud to announce the confirmation of its involvement in the 2013 JP Aloha Classic. For the first time in 7 years, the PWA World Tour will be back on Maui to pit the world best windsurfers against some of the world’s best wave sailing conditions. Taking off where it left off in 2006, the Aloha Classic will once again be supported by JP Australia, highlighting the unbreakable bond between the JP name and the world famous surf of Hookipa Beach Park.
Martin Brandner – Brand Manager, JP Australia
“Our Slogan The Right Stuff for Radical Action matches perfectly with the image of Ho’okipa as one of the most radical wave spots on this planet. We did not have a PWA event on Maui since we sponsored the last Aloha Classic in 2006. So we at JP finally decided that it is time again that we step up and become the title sponsor and bring the best wave sailors back to Maui for a PWA competition. We are very proud that we can help to make this finally happening and we look forward to see the best and most radical wave riders perform in the prestigious Aloha Classic. Jason Polakow who was the first non-Hawaiian ever win in Ho’okipa will unfortunately not be able to compete as he has other commitments in an event on Mauritius but he will be attending the opening ceremony of the event and he will keep his fingers crossed for his JP team mates.
Building on the success of the AWT Makani Classic during 2011 and 2012, the JP Aloha Classic will bring together the burgeoning American Windsurfing Tour and the PWA World Tour for the first time. The PWA and AWT have been working tirelessly throughout the last 12 months to make this event a reality and the stage is now set for what promises to be a showdown on a titanic scale.
Sam Bittner – AWT Tour Director
Since we began the Makani Classic at Hookipa 2 years ago, our goal has been to build a bigger and better event which will bring more top level athletes to the event. The addition of the PWA to the line-up will add another level to an already great competition and we are happy to see the contest continue to develop.
Richard Page – PWA Tour Manager
Its great news for the tour and for the sport that we will finally be going back to Hookipa after 7 years and its fitting that we will be doing it with JP who have once again stepped up to cement their relationship with wave sailing at the highest level. We are grateful to Sam Bittner at the AWT for her support and efforts in building the foundations of the event through the Makani Classic and we are confident that this will be the start of strong future for PWA events on Maui.
The windsurfing world will finally get the match up they have been looking for as the Hookipa specialists and AWT regulars take on the best of the rest of the world. Legends in the sport such as Levi Siver and Josh Stone will throw down with tour regulars like Victor Fernandez, Ricardo Campello and, of course, current PWA Wave World Champion, the goliath that is Philip Koster, to finally decide who is the master on Maui in a full ranking PWA World Cup.

Da Wind News di dicembre/gennaio 2013 intervista a Sam Bittner by Cammar!
A beneficio dei lettori italiani che potrebbero non essere a conoscenza di questo tour, due pillole di storia. La mia amica Sam Bittner è venuta a vivere a Maui qualche annetto fa, ha iniziato a fare windsurf ed a un certo punto ha sentito l’esigenza di partecipare a qualche contest per migliorare e confrontarsi con le altre.
Visto che di contest non ce n’erano, con l’aiuto del suo ragazzo di allora (Russ, che lavora con me da Hi-Tech), ha organizzato un primo contest in Oregon (perchè era più facile ed economico che a Maui).
Al riguardo, le ho fatto qualche domanda via email. Le riporto qui di seguito senza tradurle un po’ perchè non mi va e un po’ perchè nella traduzione si perde sempre qualcosa: è come i film doppiati… una volta che vedi quelli in lingua originale capisci quanto meglio sono e non puoi tornare indietro.
Per cui datevi una mossa e imparate un po’ d’inglese o skippate l’intervista…
Sam, why did you organize the first contest, where and when?
The first windsurfing contest I organized was the Pistol River Wave Bash in 2010. I put that one on because I realized there were no wave sailing contests going on on the east coast or Hawaii. I asked the previous event organizer for the Pistol River Wave Bash to bring it back and he said no, but that I should do it, so I did! Haha. I had never been to a windsurfing contest before so I was learning a TON at that event and asking everyone questions. I still am learning at every event. Now I have organized 12 events».
Il successo del contest e il supporto di alcuni brand, la convinsero l’anno dopo ad organizzare un vero e proprio American Tour con tappe in Oregon, California, North Carolina, Baja California, ma soprattutto Maui!
How did it turn into a tour?
The American Windsurfing Tour came about when the first Pistol River contest was over. Everyone who attended the event was so happy and lots of people came up to me at the closing party asking me to bring an event to their back yard. At the time I was really overwhelmed but after a month or two I sat down and made a calendar of events for 2011 that had 5 stops. 2012 brought 7 events. It’s growing!
What is the relationship between AWT and PWA?
The PWA has been an inspiration to me. They are a well run organization that provides top of the line events. They currently have a rule that the top 10 ranked riders may not compete in events outside the PWA if it is not their home country. I hope to work with the PWA in 2013 to create events where everyone can play!
(nota del Cammar: Browsinho e Swift hanno partecipato al contest perchè dotati di green card… in altre parole sono residenti negli States).
What’ the plan for next year?
Wow! You are asking me less than a week after the 7 stop 2012 tour. I am currently catching my breath but hope to have a calendar of events prepared by December 1st. Whatever it is, I know it will be awesome! I plan on continuing to create events that inspire the future of windsurfing and provide opportunity for all windsurfers to showcase their skills. Looking forward!