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The nationwide RYA Push The Boat Out ‘have a
go’ festival of sailing and windsurfing, will see
hundreds of clubs and centres nationwide
inviting people to get involved for free or low
cost between 13-21 May.
Whether your club or centre takes part in this national
focus event or you simply put on ‘try windsurfing’
events for your local community, the first impression
can be the difference in someone just ‘having a go’
and signing up for more.
The Chase Sailing Club, near Walsall, and Hollingworth
Lake Water Activity Centre, near Rochdale, are two
organisations with great track records in converting
‘taster’ windsurfers into regulars. Mark Buckingham,
The Chase SC Training Principal, and Alister Pittman,
Duty Manager at Hollingworth Lake, help explain how
to do it well.
1. Know your audience
Who you attract falls into a handful of groups – total
newbies who have seen your event advertised, people
who have windsurfed before and want to do it again
and family and friends of windsurfers who want to have
a go themselves.
Having kit available to suit all, adults and kids, is key.
Chase runs two-hour free windsurfing tasters as part of
its club Open Day with around 50 people typically
trying windsurfing over six hours, so Mark says kit
variety is crucial.
“We’ll have Hifly Motions and Mambos and Starboards,
with the full rig range from 2.5 up for people to try.
We’re blessed as we have Boardwise right on our
doorstep so they bring the latest kit for people
who may already have had a bit of experience or
are windsurfers, to trial too. This means there’s
a real mix of abilities on the water at the
same time, which is very aspirational for
people having their first go.
“The most popular rig for tasters tends
to be 3.5, but it’s not uncommon to get
some bigger men who insist they will
need a bigger sail. It only takes one
decent gust to convince them they
actually don’t! You can tell pretty quickly if
someone has tried windsurfing before so you
can migrate them up a size easily.”
2. The value of a warm welcome
You never get a second chance to make a good first
impression, so picking the right friendly face(s) to
welcome people, and having good signage, that’s up
early and shows you off to be a professional, well-
prepared outfit, is so important.
uk
WIND
SURFING