The South American Championships were held on 2 – 5 December at Raia 1 in Porto Alegre Brazil. 40 competitors in several divisions were racing for the title “South American Slalom Champion”.
After 4 days racing Matheus Isaac (BRA-767) claimed undefeated the highest platform on the podium. Until the last race there was a battle between Lucas Trindade (BRA-101) and Nathan Westera (ARU-8) which was won by Lucas who finished second in the final results.[more]
With 3 youth/junior competitors in the top 10 it is good to see the youth competition is very strong in South America.
Besides the battle between the top competitors a number of personal (sportive) battles took place between the Masters and Grandmasters who were also competing for the Brazilian Slalom title. The first Master, Mathias Pinheiro (BRA-5) took the 4th place overall, followed by the father of Mateus, Carlos Isaac (BRA-768) who took the 5th place overall as the first Grandmaster.
The races where sailed in various conditions which made it possible to race only 3 valid eliminations. Heat 6 of the 4th elimination could not start before the last possible warning signal due a general recall. As the finals were not completed the 4th elimination was not valid.
For several of the Brazilian (grand)masters racing in an international event was a new experience. They had to get used to the strict program, rules and to be on time.
After the honouring of Mateus Isaac as the new South American Champion the competitors left the venue satisfied to prepare for the Championships next year.
