How were the winners decided?
Submissions for the 2022 FPT Awards were open until the very last day of 2022. Every windsurfer in the world was free to send in their clips, moves and nominations as submissions in all of the available categories. After submissions closed, the judging process began. Each category was decided by 3 separate panels, each having 1 vote towards the decision. In the Best Move (Men and Women) categories, it was the public who helped us decide, getting one of those votes! The other two votes were carried out by our experienced FPT Judging Panel, and our FPT Head Judge. All other categories were decided by: 1x FPT Judging Panel, 1x FPT Media Panel and 1x FPT Management Panel.
Due to the countless quality submissions, it was a tough process. This became even more apparent with a number of the online public vote heats being extremely close! With more than 25.000 votes cast, and our judges spending sleepless nights dissecting every move, the results are now in!
Before getting to it, we would like to extend a massive thanks to our judges for all their hard work, and to you, the public, for helping us decide! So who won!?
Fanatic/Duotone Rookie of the Year Award
Fanatic and Duotone have been at the forefront of supporting new Freestyle talent forever. With their Young Blood team, currently consisting of Tijmen Meijer and Eugenio Marconi, they aim to foster the future of our sport by helping up and coming talent around the world. This year they committed to supporting the Freestyle Pro Tour Rookie of the Year Award by offering a Board and a Rig, as well as entry into the prestigious team of up and coming rippers!
A rookie is a person who competed in the Pro division of the Freestyle Pro Tour for the first time in 2022. We've had multiple rookies this season, and it's always refreshing to see some new faces on tour! Mathias Vingaard (Starboard/Severne), Foivos Tsoupras (Fanatic/Duotone/Maui Ultra Fins), Pawel Kazmierczak (Starboard/Severne), Pawel Palichleb (Fanatic/Duotone) and Elena Dominick all made their first appearance and tried to prove themselves on the international arena. There was one rider however, who managed to impress the FPT, Fanatic and Duotone the most. With his motivation, quality sailing and progression this year it is Primus Sorling who is awarded with the Fanatic/Duotone Rookie of the Year Award! Stay tuned for more news about the up and coming Swedish-Kenyan freestyler!
Most Improved Rider in 2022
Of course there are loads of riders who have already entered competition before, but still show a lot of promise! The Most Improved Rider of 2022 Award goes to someone who has impressed everyone by bursting onto the scene at the EFPT Summer Opening event in Austria, claiming an impressive 7th place and taking down some big names along the way. Consistently improving his competitive sailing, the award goes to the Austrian Michi Czech (Severne)!
2022 Stylemaster
Once you improve and learn new moves, it's adding style to your sailing that makes you a freestyler. The Stylemaster award puts a spotlight on a rider who has displayed a unique style this year. This category was tough to call, due to style being very subjective. With a host of quality nominations (check the full show to see who was considered), it came down to one sailor in the end. With a consistent and very adaptive style, the Stylemaster Award goes to Adrien Bosson (Fanatic/Duotone/Maui Ultra Fins)!
Check out the freshly baked World Champion's latest video and read our interview with him about it here.
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