Open European Ice-Blokart Championships 2024
The Open European Ice-Blokart championships took place on January 26-28 and demanded special patience from the organizers - from the beginning of January, Lithuania and the surrounding European countries were covered by a thick layer of snow, which in some places reached more than 20 cm. The search for suitable ice for this championship was long and persistent. A week before the competition, the Lithuanian reservoirs looked the most optimal - they were chosen between the Curonian Lagoon in the west, Lake Paežeriai in Vilkaviškis and Lake Rėkyva in the center of Lithuania.
Finally, the cyclone that arose at the beginning of last week brought relief and dark clouds - heavy rains melted the snow and only 2 days before the start of the competition, the organizers could capture the location of the event - Lake Rėkyva in Šiauliai with a 22 cm thick ice cover without snow.
Foto: Rolandas Laurutavičius
Close to 30 sailors from Lithuania, South Britain and New Zealand gathered on the ice to catch the wind.
If on Thursday during the training the athletes simply flew on the still wet ice, then on Friday - the first day of the championship - the sailors could only walk on the surface of the lake, because the promised breeze did not blow any stronger. Even the lightest - ultra-lightweights, who have completed 3 races - barely moved.
On Saturday, it was decided for the athletes to advance the starts. From 8 o'clock in the morning, an average wind of 4-5 m/s was blowing, which made it possible to race a lot - 5 races for each group - and gave the sailors speed and racing excitement.
Foto: Rolandas Laurutavičius
Athletes sailed the upwind-downwind course by zigzag maneuvering. Races were won by athletes who were more technical and reacted better to the wind speed and its turns. Correct tactics were also important, which allowed the leaders to "exploit" the wind that was not disturbed by the opponents' sails.
Blokarters ran at the highest speeds in the leeward part of the distance - even when the wind was only 4-5 m/s strong, they reached a speed of up to 40 km/h. This means that due to the laws of physics, Ice-blokarts more than doubled the speed of the wind. However, in order to reach and maintain maximum speed, athletes had to employ developed skills and observation, especially in light winds.
Foto: Rolandas Laurutavičius
Jonas Mažunavičius, a local athlete sailing in Rėkyva, confidently won in the ultra-lightweight group, scoring 8 points. The middle weight category was also dominated by Greta Kalinauskaitė, a pupil of the sports center "Atžalynas" from Šiauliai, who defeated Karolis Atkočaitis from Neringa, winning all but one of the races. Perhaps the fiercest fight - point to point - took place in the heavyweight category between Vykintas and Matas Mizgiris. Everything was decided during the last run, on Sunday - after turning the windward mark on the last straight of the distance, Vykintas managed to sail more tactically. He managed to catch up and overtake Matas and cross the finish line first. With this victory, he tied the score on points and became European champion. In the super heavyweight category, Lithuanian also dominated - Antanas Golubovskis from Nida sailing club "Vetrungis" defeated the representative of N. Zealand, Stephen Weir, scoring 5 points and won gold.
TOP3 results: Ultra lightweight Production
Jonas Mažunavičius (Šiauliai), 8 points.
Teresė Mizgirytė (Neringa), 16 points.
Matas Jorudas (Šiauliai), 19 points.
Mediums Performance
Greta Kalinauskaitė (Šiauliai) 5 points.
Karolis Atkočaitis (Neringa) 9 points.
Louise Weir (UK) 17 pts.
Heavyweights Performance 1. Vykintas Mizgiris (Neringa) 7 points. 2. Matas Mizgiris (Neringa) 7 points. 3. Gediminas Petrauskas (Priekulė) 14 points.
Super heavyweights Performance 1. Antanas Golubovskis (Neringa) 5 points. 2. Stephen Weir (N. Zealand) 9 pts. 3. Andrew Hartwell (D.Britanija) 15 pts
Detailed results: https://lt.regattas.eu/regatta/ice-blokart-euros-2024