With one regatta remaining in the inaugural Spanish national beach sprint league, the clubs or athletes most willing to travel across the country have gained a key advantage. In two of the four solos events (under-19 women’s and senior men’s), the points leader (Blanca Lopez and Joel Naukkarinen, respectively) is the only rower that competed in all of the first three regattas. And in both cases, the leader holds a 12-point advantage that means second place can at most only tie the total points by season end. (The winner of the solos in each regatta gains 12 points.)
In the senior women’s solos, the race is tighter at 8 points, but the leader (Carmen Jarabo) is just one of two rowers that has competed three times. In the under-19 men’s, which has a tie for first place, no one has raced in all three regattas.
Although beach sprint regattas can involve fewer logistical challenges for clubs, because the boats are typically provided by the organization, the costs of cross-country travel could still be a barrier, as well as complications of a packed competition schedule. The first regatta, held in Málaga, Andalucía, boasted 72 rowers across the solos events, yet 70 of those were from clubs based on the Mediterranean coast. The next race, in Donostia/San Sebastían, in the Basque Country, saw overall participation drop to 39, but the number of rowers from the north increased to 19. And in the most recent event, in Cambrils, Cataluña, the number of athletes increased slightly to 47, although only included rowers from the Mediterranean.
The final regatta of the league will be in Torrevieja, Valencia, from 7 to 9 August. Participation is expected to climb again, in large part because the race will also be Spanish national championships.