Tabou congratulate Jamie Hancock for earning ‘PWA Rookie of the Year 2010’. Here’s their interview with the young Brit…
Joining the PWA World Tour is a big step and takes a huge commitment. Testing, training and an intense desire are required along with a hefty price tag to follow the tour. Jamie Hancock rose to the occasion in 2010 and walked away with a major achievement. Here are a few comments for the rookie!
MP: Congratulations Jamie, you must be feeling pretty good right now! Tell us your first reaction to getting this award!
JH: I’m feeling great. Rookie of the year is a huge award as it is for the world tour. The level of the guys on the wavesailing tour is through the roof so I am really chuffed to receive this.
MP: Tell us a little more about yourself- How old are you, where have you been and how did you get to where you are today?
JH: I started windsurfing around 15 years old with my Dad at my local beach called Hill Head. I went through school and college spending every spare minute trying to get to the beach. I absolutely loved windsurfing and all I really wanted to do was just that. Watching all the old videos like surface tension and RIP, I knew I had to try and get to Maui. So, after endless hours of packing boxes and whatever jobs I could find, I made it and that was where I got to improve. When I got back to the UK, I started to do the UK wave tour. That was where it all started I guess.
MP : Other than your love for windsurfing and watching those classic videos, were there any people that inspired you to follow your new found dream?
JH : Yeah, apart from seeing the guys on the PWA tour doing their thing, a lot of inspiration came from home. I was very lucky to windsurf at my local beach because besides the pretty average onshore chop, there were a lot of good sailors. Guys like Chris Audsley, PWA judge Paul Hunt and his brother Jack. They were all top windsurfers and at the top on the UK scene. Hanging out with these guys really helped me to always progress.
MP: So before 2010, what has been your competition history?
JH: My first significant result was winning the London indoor boatshow, I beat guys like Nik Baker and John Skye to be the UK jump champion. Than I went on to win the Tiree Wave Classic. And 2009 I was named British Wavesailing Champion. After that result I decided to try my luck on the world tour.
MP: When you look back on the year, are there any moments that stand out?
JH: It is all a bit of a blur to be honest. There was a lot of waiting for conditions but when they arrived it was all condensed into a number of 8 minute heats.
MP: How did you go about preparing for those heats, had you even windsurfed at any of the 2010 tour locations?
JH: Well, it was pretty hard. Everything was new, I had never been to any of the places before. So where to go, where to stay, what equipment to take, it was all a mystery. I just went with small onshore boards for Pozo, medium onshore for Klitmoller and Sylt and light sideshore for Cabo Verde. The 69 and 75 pocket fins were what I used the most, they are amazing all round competition boards.
MP: Where are you going to be in the offseason?
JH: At the moment I am at home working on some video projects with umi and am then looking to start the training for the coming year. I also want to see how the PWA wave tour is shaping up and where I should spend my time training.
MP: Thanks for your time and good luck for 2011.
JH: Cheers.
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