In 2022, the Canary Islands welcomes the world’s sailing elite to Lanzarote once again for the first stop on the world circuit of the iQFoil Games in January and the Lanzarote Olympic Regatta in February.
Lanzarote welcomed the world’s top sailors from the 24th to the 29th of January for the first stop on the world circuit of the iQFoil Games. More than 100 competitors from over 20 different countries travelled to the Canary Island to take part in the 2022 iQFoiL International Games.
iQFoiL is an innovative style of windsurfing that will make its Olympic debut in Paris 2024. Windsurfing on foils has only been in existence for two years, but there are already more than 1,000 sailors around the world, including Ireland and the UK.
The Canary Islands are one of the best European destinations for sailors to train and compete year-round, with ideal natural conditions and a specialized infrastructure network for professional athletes. Sailors flock to the archipelago to establish training bases and prize the location as a base for events on the world calendar.
From February 11th to 19th, the second edition of the Lanzarote Olympic Regatta will be held in the waters of Playa Blanca, in front of the Marina Rubicón port. Although the 2021 edition was held with three Olympic classes (Nacra, 49er, and 49er FX), this year participation is open to eight (ILCA 6, ILCA 7, 49er, 49er FX, iQFoil M, iQFOIL F, 470, and Nacra). This year’s event will host over 300 participants from 20 nations.
Last year the islands were selected by World Sailing and the International Olympic Committee to host the Olympic classification of the Nacra 17, 49er, and FX classes for Europe and Africa. This year at the express wish of competitors the archipelago has once again been given a leading role in elite competition.
Yaiza Castilla, Canary Islands Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce says: “the fact that an international event has moved to Lanzarote speaks of the effort that both public and private organizations have made to position the Canary Islands in the imagination of professional athletes”.
The professional gathering in Lanzarote was added at the instruction of athletes who know the quality of the island’s offering and already use the location to prepare for the season.
Why do Athletes Choose the Canary Islands?
The Canary Islands offer unique conditions for top-level athletes – sunny days, tireless trade winds, and many hours of daylight. There are many climatological characteristics not found elsewhere in Europe. There is also the opportunity to use high-level facilities, both for accommodation and training in a destination committed, in this difficult time, to health security, confirmed by the 2021 world champion Nicolas Goyard, “the Canary Islands are an ideal place both to train and to start the competition season. All the French team displaced here agree that the conditions are very good, both in and out of the water”.
“Lanzarote has been serving as a training base for athletes from all over the world for almost a decade, but recently it has also become the place of choice for Olympic sailors. The natural environment of Lanzarote and the Canary Islands make it ideal for sports sailing. The teams maximize their preparation thanks to the conditions,” said José Juan Lorenzo, Managing Director of Canary Islands Tourism.
The importance of the Canary Islands can be seen with the results at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 where, in the sailing classes, of the 30 medals awarded, 21 were achieved by teams that train in Lanzarote.
“Right now we’ve teams that started training in October. They’re from more than 35 different countries, and some will remain until March or April. The average stay in Lanzarote is two months, and nobody spends less than 30 days here. We have to bear in mind that to train in the Canary Islands athlete boats need to relocate. Auxiliary boats have to travel too as well as quite expensive technical equipment. This sort of trip is only justified if the final destination is appropriate for a long-term stay. That’s why we’re working to promote international events that help Olympic preparation for Paris 2024 and that also contribute to positioning the Canary Islands as the best European location for elite athletes,” Lorenzo adds.
The Canary Islands’ natural assets make the archipelago a paradise for professional training and international competitions. There are many elite athletes who choose the archipelago to carry out preparation. Sailors, surfers, triathletes, swimmers, beach volleyball players, cyclists, and paragliders from all over the world select the Canary Islands as their training base. For example, elite groups, such as the INEOS Grenadiers and the Jumbo-Visma cycling teams, which prepare for big season competition on the slopes of the archipelago. The Canary Islands is excellent for cyclists because its volcanic history means it’s relatively fast and easy to go from sea level to a height of more than 1,800 metres. Training at altitude, with lower atmospheric pressure, improves sports performance and Teide, the highest peak in Spain, is the favourite for cyclists.
The Canary Islands has outstanding weather statistics. The average temperate is 23º in summer, 19º in winter, and there are 4,800 hours of daylight per year. The connectivity of the Canary Islands allows athletes to reach the archipelago from the main European cities in a matter of a few hours. There are 1,500 kilometres of coastline bathed by volcanic waters rich in nutrients in the islands. So the wide range of facilities for high-level athletes includes thalassotherapy, a healing process that aids rapid recovery.