Olympic bronze medallist and Team Volvo for life sailor, RS:X windsurfer Nick Dempsey encouraged people to dust off their boards and get out on the water for the event which brings the whole windsurfing community together, National Windsurfing Week 2011 (NWW).
Launched today (06 March) at the RYA Volvo Dinghy Show, NWW will take place from 01 to 08 May and provides the perfect opportunity for windsurfing enthusiasts to encourage as many people as possible out on the water whatever their ability.
“Windsurfing is something that I have always loved and enjoyed and there are so many people who feel the same” explains Nick Dempsey, one of NWW’s ambassadors.
“National Windsurfing Week is a really good excuse to get out on the water with your friends and is the perfect way to open the season. We also hope that people who have never tried it before will give it a go too.”
Fred Willis from Boards Magazine who has helped to coordinate the week with the RYA added: “It’s all about increasing visibility of the sport as well as introducing newcomers at the start of the summer season. We hope it will encourage those existing windsurfers to dust off their winter blues have a great time out on the water.”
One very popular way to get involved in the charity is to take part in the ‘Sunrise to Sunset’ challenge which marks the first day of NWW (May 01). The fundraiser encourages entrants to spend a full day on the water to raise money for the Windsurfing 4 Cancer (W4CR) charity. This year the Windsurfing 4 Cancer aim to raise £80 thousand on the day for cancer research with many schools and windsurfing hotspots from all around the country already signed up for the challenge.
Kate Atkins who volunteers for W4CR said: “I only started windsurfing last summer and I came across the Sunrise to Sunset challenge. It is a brilliant first event of the season which gets everybody involved even if they have never been before and the money all goes to a really good cause.”
National Windsurfing Week was originally set up in 2008 by a group of windsurfing volunteers who were keen to attract more people to the sport. It is currently coordinated by the RYA, Spartan Wetsuits and Boards Magazine who are working with clubs, training centres, and windsurfing retailers to host local windsurfing events during 01-08 May 2011.
To find out how you can get involved and to register your event in National Windsurfing Week visit the website http://www.nationalwindsurfingweek.org/
To find out where you can take part in the Sunrise to Sunset Challenge visit http://www.windsurfing4cancerresearch.org/index.php
