Plans this year ? Any events on the calendar ? If so , which ones ? The main competitions I ’ m focusing on will be the BSA events . I may try and get down to Italy and Switzerland for a holiday and swing by Silvaplana to enter the Swiss Championships . The Swiss put on some awesome events , plus I really like it there .
What do you think of the windsurfing race scene in the UK currently ? How would you like to see it improved ? I really enjoy the racing in the UK . The people are awesome and they all put so much effort into the events and I speak for everyone . We are all very grateful for their input and the sacrifices they make to ensure each and every event happens .
In terms of improvements , personally I feel like marketing is absolutely key for the sport . I ’ d really like more engagement with wider audiences outside of windsurfing , which is where real non-industry sponsorship can be generated from . A great start would creating and publishing high quality videos and pictures regularly on all relevant social media platforms . It ’ s never been easier to get free exposure right from a mobile phone , so it would be great to see that happen .
From the perspective of developing events : I ’ m still adamant that a light wind alternative needs to come in below the wind minimum for slalom to fill the gap between 6-12 knots for example . So there ’ s more chance of doing something on the water at events . This is crucial for attracting spectators and sponsorship in the future . After all , what organisation or company are going to sponsor events when everyone ’ s sitting on the beach doing nothing !? Foiling is a really interesting option for a light wind gap filler for slalom events , but we are realistically a couple of years at least away from racers being skilled enough to safely race around a course . Right now there ’ s only a handful of guys that can competently sail foils . The concept is still new but has great potential for a credible discipline . Who knows , it may even make it as an Olympic class ?
We also need to give a better understanding of what ’ s happening on the water to spectators on the beach . To get people interacting with what ’ s going on , commentary is essential for this , together with music to give a great vibe at each event . This will help appeal to the right demographic to make the sport look cooler and bring in new blood from outside .
And what about windsurfing in general ? Opinions on that ? Windsurfing is amazing . At competition level there needs to be change to really grow and there ’ s still room for improvement , especially with the RYA . The RYA are brilliant at getting people into the sport at grass roots level , but it ’ s frustrating when a lot of talented windsurfers that don ’ t get chosen for the British Team , fall by the wayside and in a lot of instances come away from it . I feel many are disillusioned by the Olympic dream , when actually , only one girl and one boy get to attend .
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