Sailing: The Potrerillos reservoir was a windsurfing festival

There were three days of regattas, where the weather was perfect, the wind force was on our side, especially on Sunday. Three international 'juris' from Argentina , Mexico and the United States intervened in the competition, which resolved a total of eight protests that arose during the competition.

The oldest participant was Humberto Gómez Quatrello, aged 70, and the youngest was Agustín Hoffmann, aged 14. The total number of windsurfers who sailed the waters of the Potrerillos Dam was around fifty.

"Foreign and national helmsmen were in the Villa de Potrerillos ten days before the competition, to do the regatta spot test," says Beatriz Pelleriti, former president of the Mendoza Windsurfing Association (AMW).

"In all these tests, the competitors observe the currents, winds, shallows, in other words, it is a field test," said Beatriz Pelleriti.

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Daniel Caballero

In the beautiful grounds of the Mendoza Windsurfing Association (AMW) , several qualifying races were held for the pre-Pan American qualifying competition for the specialty. The races also served to score points for the Argentine windsurfing ranking. This was the first of a total of four dates, the other three will be held later in Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Puerto Madryn.

Beatriz Pelleriti, current treasurer of the AMW, was the one who told us a little about the activity of this sport both in Mendoza and in the country. "We have had this property in Potrerillos since 2001, little by little we built the different facilities. There were 14 of us windsurfers who contributed to transform a wasteland into this orchard. World championships were held in our facilities. In 2009 the formula windsurfing championship was held and we had ten world champions, and ranking championships, Mendoza championships and South American tournaments were also held."

Pelleriti said that the Mendoza ranking consists of eight dates, which are contested from October to March and that "there are four left to finish this season."

Beatriz Pelleriti also said that "the IQ Foil formula replaced the windsurfing formula and the RSX class, which were the previous Olympic boards. In this last formula (the old RSX and previous board for the Games) we had one of the best riders in the history of Mendoza: Celita Tejerina."

In Formula Foil there were 20 competitors from Mendoza, Córdoba, Rosario, Puerto Madryn, San Luis and CABA. The following competed for Mendoza: Fernando Consorte, Fabio Angella, Alejandro Orrego, Guido Cortez, Guillermo Galdámez and Juan Carloni.

"This time, Argentina is competing for the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción. Whoever wins here has half a ticket to that competition, because they will have to revalidate the other half of the spot in Carlos Paz in April," said Pelleriti.

Gerónimo Almenara, Nicolás Almenara, Constanza Almenara and Delfina Zerga competed for this selection in Mendoza. There were also two windsurfers who participated in the races and who are preparing for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games: Adrián Sasso and Agustín Hoffmann.

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Daniel Caballero

In the women's IQ foil the positions were: 1st Chiara Ferretti (Arg); 2nd Giovanna Prada (Bra); 3rd Constanza Almenara (Arg) and 4th Sofia Rocha (Bra).

In the IQ Foil men's category the positions were: 1st Francisco Cruz Saubidet Birkner Arg; 2nd Joaquin Reutemann (Arg); 3rd Guilherme Plentz (Bra) and 4th Bartolome De Las Casas (Per).

In the general Foil formula category, the positions were: 1st Fernando Consorte (Arg); 2nd Marcos Murgio (Arg); 3rd Raul Saubidet (Arg) and 4th Fabio Ariel Angella (Arg).

Beatriz Pelleriti thanked the Mendoza Sports Undersecretary, the FAY and its representative Hernán Vila for their support in organizing this event. She also thanked the AMW staff composed of Alberto Morales, Andrea Re, Federico Alarcón, Aldo Scavarda, Oliver Benegas, Gustavo Hoffmann, Raúl González, Alejandro Rodríguez and Carlos Becares.

Sailing and windsurfing specialists conclude that the waters of this reservoir have the optimal winds and currents for the sport of sailing. "It is one of the best courses, if not the best regatta course in the country, due to the wind conditions that range between 15 and 20 knots. The docks used for landing equipment are excellent," say AMW.

IQ foil is for those under 23 and formula foil is for those over 24 or masters.

This international tournament is for athletes between 12 and 22 years old and is the second time in history that it has been held. The first edition was in the city of Cali, Colombia in 2021.

As in the previous edition, some events will qualify for the 2027 Pan American Games. The edition also marks the preparation of young athletes for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

At the previous junior games in Cali, Colombia, the national sailing team did great.

This time, San José beach in the city of Encarnación, Paraguay will be the sub-venue for sports such as sailing and swimming, among others.