24 PROFILEBOB INGRAM
How did this come about?
Really it all happened in a bit of a blur. I was approached at an
event at Rutland Water when some of the existing committee
thought it might be time for a change of direction. I remember
putting an arm around the previous chairman who incidentally
was a good mate. We had a long chat about the future and
before I knew it there was a meeting and I had been elected
as the new chair. Whilst I had been asked to have a quiet word
I had no idea where it was going and what the outcome would
be. It was a bit of a surprise to say the least I only went to race
and came away head of the show.
How long have you been at the helm and what do
you see as the biggest challenges?
Since about 2009. The biggest challenge is probably keeping
the whole thing viable. It is more and more expensive to put
on events, the maintenance of the associated equipment is
expensive and windsurfers can just turn up at any beach and
go for a sail without paying entry fees. Therefore we have to
convince people of the value of competition if we expect
them to be paying for it. Events need to have added value,
you need to enjoy the whole experience and this is where the
UKWA family comes into its own. It’s just like being part of a
big club it’s just that the UKWA is nomadic by nature.
Is it tricky dealing with frayed tempers and egos
at events? How do you do it?
I have spent my life working in the service industry so conflict
resolution is no big deal and egos are not going to intimidate
me at all. The racing rules of sailing are here for a reason,
they provide a set of rules which must be observed or
everything on a race course will fall apart. So I guess I am
fairly strict in this area.
Protests are a bit of a pain, especially at the end of an event
when everyone wants to go home. But the rules make it fair
for everyone and we can all enjoy the experience safely. This
is not to say that there have been a few incidents over the
years most you can laugh about over a pint or two later in
the evening and for sure I am not exempt myself having once
chased a dinghy all the way to castle cove sailing club for
taking me out at the windward mark!
Talk to us about foil racing. Is this the future do
you think?
It’s hard to tell as everything is still developing. If I had to put
money on it then for sure I would say yes. But we have been
here before. Formula was going to be the future. It had a
couple of good years and slowly declined. As a light wind
option it is certainly adding to slalom events and I think the
new foils go upwind so well they are already proving to be
more than competitive at course racing events. The Olympic
decision is going to make a big difference to racing at youth
and adult levels but do we really want to see the death of
Techno? Personally I hope not. The UKWA are all over this
and are focused on being leaders of any revolution opposed
to being followers.
uk
WIND
SURFING