Don’t Stop Us Now: The SWA Festival Rocks!

Phew! Another lost windsurfing weekend and the SWA Festival just seems to get bigger and better…

The largest event in the SWA calendar witnessed a mammoth 700 people attend a lost weekend of top coaching, demo kit, instruction, unique clinics, prizes, live music and partying. With students, ex-students, coaches, pros, importers, instructors and even the Student Kitesurfing Association (SKA) hosting a sister event on the same weekend, Aussie Kiss 5 has raised the bar yet again.

Even the wind decided to pop in for a visit this year as Saturday morning witnessed 144 beginners all getting out on the water for the very first time: no easy task in a force four! The fun wasn’t all theirs however as the intermediates and advanced took to the water under the watchful eyes of Jem Hall, Jim Collis (Windsurf Evolution), Olly Woodcock (GBR National Coach) and Hugh Sims-Williams (Olympic Sailor).

After a rather busy night which featured the very special Cornish band I.D.Ology, Sunday morning awoke to find a few groggy heads and the odd rain cloud in the sky… Precipitation wasn’t to stop those plucky students however as they returned to Roadford for freesailing madness and the extra special ‘Get the girls on board!’ question and answer session with Camilla French and Tanya Saleh. It was at this clinic that the SWA exclusively announced that the overall womens champion in the disciplines of Race, Freestyle and Wave will receive a shiny and new Naish wave sail!

Not to be outdone, long time sponsors of the SWA: Boardwise announced that their annual prize for the SWA freestyle champion will win the ultimate freestyle training tool: Adam Cropper’s Turf Dog land board. Not bad!

The SWA has been a supporter of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) for some years now and there seems no sign of this stopping as SAS came to join in the fun last weekend for the second year running- talking students through the very important work that they do. A less familiar name to student windsurfers is that of Climate Care who the SWA have also started to support in order to offset the carbon dioxide that is regrettably produced by people every time they use their car, heat their house or fly to a far flung windy location. To this latter charity will be donated £300, enough to offset 40 tonnes of CO2.

All that’s left to say now is a HUGE thank you to Roadford Lake and Bude Holiday Park who really were the hosts with the most and to everyone who attended the event: Boardwise, Naish, Starboard/ Tushingham, Bic Sport, JP/Neil Pryde, Jem Hall, Jim Collis, Olly Woodcock, Hugh Sims-Williams, Tanya Saleh, Camilla French, Surfers Against Sewage and Windsurf magazine.

Thanks also to the best sponsors in the whole wide world: Boardwise, Boardseeker, Naish as silver series sponsors, Tushingham and Starboard, Bic Sport as bronze series sponsors and Windsurf and BOARDS magazines as media affiliates.

See you next year!