Cabarete Classic - the best Windsurfing in the Caribbean

Cabarete Classic 2008 Comes to a Close

The third annual Cabarete Classic windsurfing regatta came to a close on Sunday, July 20, marking the end of the Dominican Republic’s largest windsurfing competition of the year.  The 2008 Cabarete Classic drew 74 competitors representing 14 countries, including Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bonaire, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, the Dominican Republic, the UK, and the USA.  Of the registered competitors, over half were youth racers, in the mini junior and junior categories, 17 and under.   

The event ran for four days, with one day of registration and opening festivities and three days of competition.  Thursday night’s opening ceremony started the event off with a bang, with a complementary dinner banquet and concert by rock group XXX for all competitors at Hotel Villa Taina.  Friday through Sunday, Race Director, Mark Hillaby, took charge as sailors of all ages and abilities pushed themselves to the limits in the waters of Cabarete Bay, competing in 13 categories of formula, slalom, and freestyle competition for men, women, and children.

Other nightly events included a special dinner at the Downwinder Sports Bar on Friday, a fashion show at Onno’s Bar Saturday evening, and a barbeque at Voy Voy restaurant on Sunday.  Following Sunday’s barbeque was the closing ceremony on Cabarete Beach, in which winners received trophies and assorted prizes, including a total of $4,500 US in prize money for the Open Class Slalom, Sport Class Slalom, and Open Class Freestyle categories.   

Notable competitors included the event organizer himself, Pablito Guzman, who took first place in the Open Class Slalom category, and “triathlete” Samuel Perez, who was the only competitor to compete in all three disciplines -formula, slalom, and freestyle – and who took home trophies in all three (two first places and one second place, respectively).  Amongst the youth competitors, there were a number of strong performances by both local sailors and those from other parts of the Caribbean.  Many of the mini junior competitors raced for the first time, having just started training this year thanks to a windsurfing program for disadvantaged youth sponsored in part by Pablito Guzman, Vela Resorts, and the DREAM Project.  Young sailors Steven Lageveen from Aruba and Ezri Heymans from Bonaire set the bar high for youth competition, particularly impressing judges and spectators with their freestyle tricks and walking away with first and second place in the Mini Juniors Freestyle category. 

A short promo courtesy of DR Tourist TV...

Check out the 2008 event banner...

the 2008 event t-shirt...

the 2008 event poster...

Press Releases:

  The Cabarete Classic: Windsurfing at its Best

  Dates are Set For Pablito Guzman’s Cabarete Classic 2008

  Press Release in Spanish (en Espanol)

  Notice of Race 2008

           

A Brief History: 

The Cabarete Classic was first held in 2006 as a means of keeping the spirit of windsurfing alive in our town and reuniting friends from all over the globe to enjoy the winds of Cabarete together. 

This year, the event will be bigger and better than ever, and will host roughly one hundred competitors from all over the world, including the Dominican Republic, the United States, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Switzerland, England, Canada, St. Martin, and Colombia.

Who is Pablito Guzman?

Pablito was the force behind the Cabarete Classic last year, founding the event and bringing it to life.  This year, he continues to take charge as the event's main organizer, and plans to keep it going for years to come. 

Pablito is a Cabarete native and has a long history in the windsurfing world, having competed in contests all over the globe for the past twenty years. 

He has several national titles to his credit and has windsurfing talents have been showcased in several magazine and newspaper articles.

Who is eligible to compete?

The event is open to racers of any age, gender, and nationality. There are no qualification prerequisites. If you love to windsurf, we'd love to have you.  To register, please see our online registration form.

Competition categories:

We will offer 13 different categories of competition: 

      Mini-Juniors Girls Slalom (13 and Under)

              Mini-Juniors Basic Slalom (13 and Under)

              Mini-Juniors Pro Kids Slalom (13 and Under)

              Juniors Slalom (14 to 17)

              Mini-Juniors Freestyle  (13 and Under)

              Women's Slalom

              Business Class Slalom (Cabarete Business Owners)

              Master Class Slalom (40+)

              Open Class Slalom 

              Sport Class Slalom (first time racers, fun racers, beginners)

              Open Class Formula*

              Sport Class Formula (first time racers, fun racers, beginners)

              Open Class Freestyle**

              * Special prize for top master sailor (40+)   

              **Special prize for top junior sailor (14-17)

Event Program

Day 1 will be devoted to registration and event set-up,

Days 2, 3, and 4 will be racing days with races typically starting at 10:30am and running through to 6:30pm each day.