Bonaire announce King of the Caribbean dates
Bonaire is pleased to announce that it will host the Professional Windsurfing Association’s (PWA) inaugural event for 2005. Building on the successes of the last two years in which Bonaire hosted the King of the Caribbean Freestyle Pro-AM, the PWA in conjunction with the Bonaire Sailing Foundation (BSaF) have determined that the next King of the Caribbean (KOTCaribbean) event will take place May 22 - 29, 2005. The past two years the event took place in December.ÊÊMore than forty top windsurfers from around the world are expected to compete in the week-long event at Bonaire’s Lac Bay, for a US$65,000 purse ($55,000 for men, $10,000 for women). Local favourites from the Bonaire windsurfing team that are expected to compete include Everon (Tonky) Frans, who took first place at the 2002 KOTCaribbean and is the #5 ranked pro in the world (2003), Tonky’s brother Elton (Taty) Frans ranked #4 (2003), and up and coming Kiri Thode, who is ranked #34.On the women’s side FemkeÊvan der Valk, who is originally from Holland but now resides and trains in Bonaire, is expected to compete.
As one of the first events of the 2005 PWA calendar year, the 2005 KOTCaribbean will undoubtedly attract a strong entry list with entrants looking to make an early mark on the Freestyle rankings. It will also be the first opportunity for the world to see what’s hot and what’s not after a winter of training and development. In addition during the KOTCaribbean, Bonaire will host the amateur/junior freestyle event May 27-29, 2005.ÊÊ
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