With this in mind, what are you up to over the bank holiday weekend and beyond? The Project Windsurf UK events page is a great place to check out what’s happening…

Windsurfing Stithians

Down in the South West Stithians Lake are running a Windsurf Rally over the whole weekend, whilst on Sunday Windsurf Plymouth are running a demo day with all of their new equipment.

As mentioned previously on Boards, in Wales Puravida Boardriders are running the Caldy Island Relay and windsurf festival. Check out all the information about these events, plus a many more here on the Project Windsurf UK events page.

Most sports are organised through, or at least provided by, a form of club structure, enabling you and I to participate on a regular basis and provide us with the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits, including both the social element and competition – if that’s your ‘trigger’!

John Warren credit H2O

Unlike sailing, which has a very successful club structure in the UK, windsurfing lacks this, which is often highlighted as the reason more people do not take up or continue in the sport.

How many times have you or your friends not gone sailing because you can’t find anyone to go with? I know this has been a reason for myself and many others I windsurf with; especially if you live on the coast where the safe environment of an inland lake isn’t available.

So, could you help by forming a local club, helping to get more people on the water, or do you have a club already that could benefit from help and potentially funding?

The RYA takes an active role in promoting club activity and increasing the number of clubs around the UK to increase the sports accessibility and get more people on the water. Windsurf Plymouth is just one of the clubs the RYA has been working with recently, here’s what they have been up to recently and there’s plenty to learn from them……….

Windsurf Plymouth was initiated in 2008, as a resource to provide young people in the Plymouth area with a viable and easy introduction into the sport of windsurfing.

For two years weekly club nights were run from May until September, with RYA qualified volunteers running sessions from a local RYA training centre.  Participants paid a small weekly session fee, which covered equipment cost and safety boat fuel.

Unfortunately, this activity ran for a couple of summers and then ceased, mainly due to lack of volunteers and the usual sailing venue not really being suitable for coaching planing techniques, making it increasingly difficult to retain the younger members interest.

Once better sailing locations were found and club nights could be run more effectively, a new approach ensured a regular club resource could be provided for wannabe and current windsurfers in the area.

At the beginning of 2010 two aims were set:

1) To create a club format which would appeal to current local windsurfers.

2) Develop regular club activity through which individuals and local groups and could develop their windsurfing competence and confidence.

Learning to Windsurf

To do this we asked local windsurfers to complete a questionnaire, circulated via the local windsurf shop ‘Reactive Water sports’, with support from the RYA South West Regional Sport Development team, enabling us to focus our efforts on creating a format which would actually be used by the local windsurfing community.

One of the most common comments was that they would like to receive information about when and where it would be best to windsurf for someone of their ability, as well as knowing when others would be afloat, as this was a barrier to them going windsurfing.

A club website was developed, costing a mere £40 per year! Populated with detailed information on all the local windsurfing locations, links to appropriate weather information, weekly news, new member registration and a sign post to the clubs ‘Facebook’ site – making a valuable resource.

The club has been run in a virtual format, with no fee, but the following 12 months saw 246 people join the Facebook group with 126 registering onto the clubs mailing list via the website.  The Facebook group has become the backbone of the club activity, with members posting every time wind is forecast and listing the location time they are heading for a sail. It’s the perfect way to allow individuals the opportunity to ensure they sail with others. Club member Will Rogers comments “Since Windsurf Plymouth has been launched I have met and got to know so many more local windsurfers, and sailed at many more locations than I used to.”

Encouraging new members…….Club ‘Beach Days’ are arranged once a month, with the idea to encourage local windsurfers to try a different location safe in the knowledge that they will be windsurfing with plenty of other people. The location for the ‘Beach Day’ is posted on Facebook considering the forecast.

Sustaining your volunteers………..in September 2011 we sent an open invite to all members asking for people to come forward in assisting with future sustainability. A meeting was set up and a formal club structure, which allowed Windsurf Plymouth to offer a club membership with tangible benefits.

Participation and club benefits………..Weekly club sessions are now provided, which take place through a partnership with a local sailing club, located at the best and most popular windsurfing spot in Plymouth! This also allows are members and volunteers to benefit from the clubs facilities and safety boats for club sessions.  Richard Broadbent, club member says…….. ‘a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Tim, Stuart, Windsurf Plymouth Club and the Siblyback team for an awesome evening….I felt like the sorcerer’s apprentice…… such useful advice. ……thank you once again.
Anyone looking to have a great windsurf experience could do a lot worse than getting yourselves to the Tuesday club night.’

Creating both a ‘formalised’ and ‘free-feeling’ aspect of the club has been important, aided through the continued open access of the Facebook group and Website.  Joining a formalised club does not appeal to every recreational Windsurfer!

John Warren credit H2O

Where do we go from here………one aspiration of the club is to create sustainable participation opportunities for young people, students and the local community. We are looking to purchase our own equipment and to help raise funds we are considering applying to Sport England for a ‘Small Grant Fund’, which has a maximum limit of £10,000. Through the formalisation of the club and affiliation to the RYA, this has now become possible. The RYA Regional team is at hand to help with the process and have all the relevant information you require.

For further information visit the Club Development pages on the RYA website: www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/clubsclass/development

On the face of it, windsurfing is a fairly straightforward sport; you head to a windy waterside location, rig up your sail, attach it on to your board and get out there with the hope of some high speed sailing, spectacular jumps, perhaps pulling off some fancy freestyle, whatever floats your boat, or in this case, board.

On the other hand, windsurfing is far more than this. By getting involved in a sport as absorbing as windsurfing, you are, one way or the other, tapping into a lifestyle as well. This might manifest itself in small ways; little things like the Naish sticker in the back of your car window and subtle differences in your clothing, but it’s still marking you out from the crowd. For others, the effect of windsurfing on their lifestyle can be all consuming: This can even be as drastic as jacking in your job and heading off to distant shores to chase wind and wave.

The point is that, in taking up windsurfing, consciously or subconsciously, you become part of a community. It’s not always obvious, because windsurfers are generally a fairly disparate group, but it’s there all the same. This all brings us rather neatly to Project Windsurf-UK, a new initiative set up by the RYA to tap into that sense of community and forge stronger links.

Windsurf Plymouth, an active group on Project Windsurf - UK. Image courtesy John Warren www.h2ophoto.org

How does it aim to do that? The RYA believes that social networking is the key and at the heart of Project Windsurf-UK is a rather nicely put together website which allows you to sign up and share ideas, thoughts and experiences with other windsurfers either through blogs or an online forum. In addition to this, you can inspire others by uploading your latest photos or video footage.

The RYA’s Gillian Wright has been the driving force behind the project and she explains a little more about the basic concept:

“With Project Windsurf-UK we wanted to create a focal point within the windsurfing scene, which would not only bring windsurfers together into local communities, but would also inspire people who haven’t been out for a while to dust off their kit and get back out there.

The crowds gather for W4CR. Many of whom share their experiences on Project Windsurf - UK.

Just as importantly we want an easy mechanism to be able to promote every windsurfing group and club across the country and a single website publicising all local opportunities to get on the water. 

Windsurfers love to share and discuss their experiences, and the sport lends itself to spectacular photos and footage, which should generate even more interest. For keen windsurfers, this will also be a great way to get in touch with other windsurfers and share tips and experiences.”

The website will also provide the perfect platform for windsurfing clubs and groups which have already been established to further promote their various activities. Whether you’re a club or just a loose collective of mates who windsurf together, you can register and you’ll be given your own page where you can post comments and chat to other members, provide links to your own website if you have one and generally just let people know what’s going on and what your group is all about.

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