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PURAVIDA SWA STUDENT
WAVE SERIES
WORDS: TOM PIDDEN – SWA WAVE COORDINATOR, LUKE STORRY – SWA MEDIA MANAGER
PICS: TOM PIDDEN AND LAURA TITHERIDE
WE’VE HAD A FANTASTIC 2018/19 SWA PURAVIDA WAVE SERIES, SHOWCASING SOME
AMAZING ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING TALENTS AND INTRODUCING MANY STUDENT
WINDSURFERS TO WHAT THE UK COAST HAS TO OFFER. Tom Pidden and Jim Brooks-
Dowsett have championed students getting into waves for many years, and they again
put on an amazing year. A huge thanks to those two and to the organising committees
of Swansea, Plymouth and Exeter and Bangor Universities. Because of the hard work
from all of you, we’re able to run affordable, safe and downright fun events for student
windsurfers across the UK. Read on to find out about how this season’s events went!
Stop one: Swansea
For the second year running, Swansea hosted the first stop of the SWA Puravida Wave Series. With a number of
quality South Wales windsurf spots close by, Swansea is positioned perfectly to host a student windsurf event. It is
also in close vicinity to a vibrant South Wales nightlife scene which the students obviously took good advantage of.
As Saturday morning light broke the news that the wind
and waves were yet to arrive, a mid-afternoon possible
first start was called at Trecco. Considering the light
northerly winds, it was decided that our best bet was to
wait for the modest amount of wind to be joined by a bit
of swell to hopefully get us going. As the tide came in, the
waves picked up, but unfortunately the wind didn’t pick up
enough to run the competition. However, it was awesome
to see so many sails whizzing around on the water.
Fortunately, Sunday provided far better conditions, and
the competition was off to a very healthy start. Shaun
Ashmore (Manchester), took first place, with Sarah
Jackson (Bath) in second and Petar Ivanov (Oxford
Brookes) in third place. The event ended with an attempt
at a Grand Prix-style champagne-shower finish, and
some first aid for one unlucky hand-finjury sufferer.
“At first the forecast wasn’t playing ball for the comp,
but we still had plenty of water time but thankfully as
Sunday cleared up the wind came in and gave us some
great fun waves and contestable conditions to run the
comp! I was really impressed with the level of riding from
all the competitors, especially the less experienced that
really got stuck in to step up their game on the day. It’s
really noticeable how much everyone has improved from
last years competitions, and even on the day from one
heat to the next you can clearly see how much they
learn from the experience" - Jim (Puravida)
uk
WIND
SURFING