MADRID, 25 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Canal Náutico de Cuevas in the town of Almanzora in Almería will host this Friday the II Open de España de Sitwake, a modality adapted from traditional wakeboarding and water skiing, and in which more than 50 disabled riders will meet from 10 different countries.
This sport involves the water skier riding a chair arranged on a table that moves by means of a steel cable, while the ‘rider’ has to hold the handlebars and maintain balance during a predetermined route in which They can face different obstacles such as the ramps through which they slide and jump back into the water.
In this way, any person with a disability who has strength in the arms and control of the abdominal muscles, especially upper ones, can practice sitwake, although, in any case, it is always a matter of adapting adequately to the circumstances of each person as possible. This may be the case of people with less abdominal strength or with medium-high spinal cord injuries, who thanks to a harness with a belt and a backrest that holds them back helps them to carry out this sport, according to what the Fundación También indicated.
“Sitwake was a modality very little practiced in Spain but with the celebration of this second Open it is confirmed that it is here to stay. Sitwake fever is here to stay, we are delighted with the acceptance and support that both the Federation and the region of Almería and the Cuevas del Almanzora City Council, offers us every season”, celebrated Nacho Abad, co-organizer of this competition that is included in the official calendar of the Spanish Federation of Nautical Ski Wakeboard (FEEW) and the International Waterski Federation and Wakeboarding (IWWF).
At the Lunar Cable Park facilities, there will be ‘riders’ from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Poland, Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Israel, Canada and the United States, with special mention for Meme Pagnini and Henry Chen, current world champion and runner-up, Igor Sikorski.
There will also be more than a dozen Spaniards, among them Nathalie Carpanedo, Jerónimo González and Laura Sánchez, from the recently established ‘Sitwake Sports Club’ of the Fundación También, Tania Gálvez, Daniel Patges and José Manuel Mendoza.
Prior to the competition, a course on this activity was held with more than 40 national and international ‘riders’ with disabilities to cover both the amateur, intermediate and expert levels, with coaches such as the aforementioned Nacho Abad, Meme Pagnini and Henry
Chen, who will handle the most expert.
“I recommend it to everyone, it is an outdoor sport that gives you an unparalleled sensation, it also allows you to socialize and when a person manages to maintain balance and complete the route it is very
exciting for everyone, there is a lot of camaraderie and we start to applaud and shout for joy”, emphasizes Nathalie Carpanedo, who will try this sport based on her experience in alpine skiing and snowboarding where she has won 21 gold medals in Spanish Championships.