Sarah-Quita Offringa, Aruba’s Windsurfing Wonder, Does it Again!

At the recent 2009 Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) Grand Slam in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Sarah-Quita Offringa, the 18-year-old women’s world champion hailing from Aruba, again wowed spectators.  Sailing her best heat of the year, described as flawless in her execution of the most recent and technically demanding moves, she was crowned the 2009 PWA Women’s Freestyle World Champion for the second year in a row.  Sarah-Quita still holds a perfect record of not losing a heat since the start of the season in 2008.   “I am happy that I was able to retain my title during the competitions in the Canary Islands.  Most of all, I am happy to represent Aruba at these events.  It’s a wonderful small island that I want people to know more about,” she explains.

A few days later, Sarah-Quita (Starboard/NeilPryde) made a name for herself in the competitive world of slalom as well, taking second place in Alacati, Turkey, at the Women’s Pegasus Airlines World Cup (August 10 – 15).  With a sensational victory in race eight, this young star claimed the “sailor of the day” award; she controlled the race from start to finish and kept her nerve, despite immense pressure from the leader.

Known on the windsurfing circuit as “the girl with big hair,” Sarah-Quita Offringa was victorious in 2008 in all of the three Canary Islands competitions, without losing one heat.  This makes her the youngest ever PWA Women’s Freestyle champion.  In 2007, she took first place at the PWA Women’s Freestyle competition in Lanzarote, was tied for first in the Canary Islands competition, and took second in Fuerteventura in the Grand Slam.  She set the world record in 2006 as the youngest woman to win a gold medal in the Women’s Freestyle Competition during the second leg of the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) World Tour.  At age 15, she was awarded the coveted title of Rookie of the Year in an upset victory in the Canary Islands, making her the sweetheart of the European press.