Many of the UK’s top windsurfing gurus are running some very exciting clinics this summer. giving you the perfect opportunity to progress your skills. When looking for your next clinic it’s really important to make sure that 1. You have picked a coach that suits your style and 2. The clinic will be delivering skills and coaching appropriate to your windsurfing. With that in mind, Boards catches up with Jem Hall who is soon to be delivering a women’s focussed clinic in Prasonisi to find out more about the clinic and why you should attend.
What’s happening?
World-renowned coach Jem Hall has organised a female-focused coaching clinic, which, with the help of female co-coach Rachel Tucker and his own hugely enthusiastic and passionate style, will see you improve and enjoy your windsurfing more in one week than you would in an entire season or two by yourself. More info here.
Where?Perfect Prasonisi on the Southern tip of Reliable Rhodes. Blessed by warm water and the ever-present locally accelerated Meltemi winds, and with a choice of sailing on flat water or an onshore wave beach upwind, learning locations just don’t come much better than this.
When?12 – 19 June 2013.
Who is it for? How good you need to be?The clinic is for intermediates to advanced, and you will get the most out of the week if you’re waterstarting (or very close to it) and in the straps and harness, or at least comfortable with planing and getting near the footstraps. Advanced sailors will be able to seriously improve their gybing and nail some other turns, and they’ll get the opportunity to get to grips with jumping and be introduced to some onshore wavesailing.
Windsurfing and improving at it is a big challenge for us all, from ‘Beginner to Winner’, and it’s easier to improve when someone is there to help guide, coach and enthuse you. Joining in on a coaching week means that you’re in a supportive environment, with help from both coaches and fellow students, which will help to nurture your development and get you focused on what you need to do to move on up in all areas of your sailing. Having a great coach demonstrate the best way to perform a skill and then coaching you through it is amazingly powerful and eye-opening. Lastly, Jem uses video coaching throughout the clinic, and his positive insights into to what you can do to improve have a very profound effect on your sailing and enjoyment of the sport.
What makes this clinic different from the rest?Jem’s inimitable coaching style, which redefines the concepts of enthusiasm, passion and commitment, will really rub off on you and inspire you to take action to help you move forward. He helps you learn how to learn, or to put it another way, he assists you to become the pilot and not the passenger in your windsurfing. With help from his female co coach, Rachel Tucker, he will help you to find the key to unlock your potential, and this will also ensure that the knowledge and skills you have taken on board will continue upon your return home and during your future sessions.
The main skills that will undergo the biggest development, and what we all use in windsurfing, are what Jem calls the holy trinity: plane early, sail fast, being upwind. These will improve the most on the clinic and will give you way more opportunities to improve in all areas and attempt more gybes, go into gybes faster, sail faster, make more turns, jump, etc, etc. The main achievements will be to enjoy your sailing more, go faster, be stronger and last longer in the water, and learn and develop in all moves much more quickly, be it water starting, blasting, turning or jumping, for example.
What do I need to bring with me?A sense of humour, heaps of excitement, and a willingness to learn. Oh, and a wetsuit, swimwear, a harness, hat and shades. And be ready to have a damn good time capped off with some cold refreshments to celebrate many fantastic days in the water!
More from Rachel…
Why have you become involved in this clinic?I was really happy to get involved with this clinic, quite simply because I’m sure its going to be a lot of fun! Over the last few years I’ve been involved with teaching and promoting women’s windsurfing in various ways. I’ve benefited myself from women’s clinics and loved the camaraderie and the atmosphere of these trips. I also owe much of my windsurfing progress to Jem and his clinics, so I jumped at the chance to get involved, especially in the wonderful spot of Prasonisi. I’m really looking forward to sailing with a group of women in the sunshine and helping them to progress.
Why would you encourage someone to take part?A Prasonisi clinic has all the ingredients of a great holiday and I would encourage anyone who loves windsurfing and who is looking to speed up the learning process to take part. I think the intermediate stage of windsurfing can be really frustrating and that women often benefit from focussed, tailored coaching to learn the key skills, rather than the trial and error and catapult approach. I think we often need to understand a move and break it down before we can learn it. This is where demos, one to one coaching, video feedback and Jem’s encouragement really helps! The learning does not end with the clinic as the coaching tips stay with you. This means your learning is accelerated when you get home too. Sailing fast, making way more waterstarts, overtaking the guys, jumping, gybing and throwing in a few tricks are such exciting achievements in windsurfing and if you are looking to get there then I can vouch that Jem can show you how!
Contact Jem on [email protected] or call him on 0044 (0)7762 664077 to discuss your ability or for details on Prasonisi, Rhodes as a venue.
Bookings are through Sportif Travel so please contact Phil on [email protected], 0044 (0)1273 844919 and check out the Sportif website here for more details.
International bookings are very welcome for English speakers, and you can book a land deal, which excludes flights and includes transfer, accommodation, kit hire and world class tuition.
