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division sponsors Boardwise. The first heat saw
Southampton and Bristol consolidate their position as
favourites, whilst Liverpool and Cambridge struggled
to cope with the chop. In the second heat,
Birmingham came out on top, with Swansea closely
behind. Sheffield and Nottingham unfortunately fell
foul to the tricky conditions.
Heading into the final and it was a clean slate, with all
to sail for. Southampton’s team, comprising Oliver
Bull, Leo Calnan and Charlie Wilson showed why they
have a reputation for dominance as each sailor put in
a solid leg, with slick changeovers, meaning they were
never really challenged for the title. Coming home in
second were Bristol, who also all sailed valiantly but
didn’t have the skill or experience of the Southampton
team. The closest showdown was for the final podium
place, with Birmingham and Swansea battling for the
valuable BUCS points. Swansea were in the lead
going into the final leg, but expert pumping from
Birmingham first year Tom Sambrook propelled them
into third place.
1. Southampton
2. Bristol
3. Birmingham
Freestyle
For those with a penchant for bending themselves
inside out, the weekend of competition was rounded
off with a freestyle competition. Spectators lined the
beach to gaze in awe at the moves being attempted –
borderline planning winds meaning many spectacular
crashes were seen. Forward loops, vulcans and 360s
galore were attempted, landed and crashed as the
competitors attempted to woo both the judges and
crowd. Southampton really showed their dominance
in this division, with all three podium places being
taken by their sailors.
1. Oliver Bull (Southampton)
2. Charlie Wilson (Southampton)
3. Leo Calnan (Southampton)
The key partner and facilitator of the weekend was
Colwyn Bay Watersports a Community Interest
Company and Welsh RYA Training Centre. Providing all
safety cover and race officials, they were instrumental
in the events running. We caught up with founder and
director Taffy Osborne for his take on this year’s BUCS
event. “The Student Windsurfing Nationals have been
an incredibly inclusive and colourful event to host here
at Colwyn bay. We were apprehensive that as it’s the
first year here there was always room for something to
go wrong. But in reality we couldn’t be happier with
how it has all turned out – we’ve had some good wind,
which can always make or break an event and the SWA
committee have been superb to work with. Windsurfing
is one of our core activities that we provide at Colwyn
Bay and we are delighted to have been able to support
young persons to get out on the water and take part in
this incredible sport. We hope this is just the first of
many events to come here at Colwyn Bay.”
The BUCS nationals draw an end to the student
windsurfing event series 2016/17, it has certainly
remained a core highlight of the year and one that
leaves great memories and high expectations for the
new year to come.
uk
WIND
SURFING