Record turn out in the south east

The last thing on my mind as I went through all the preparation checklists and mental notes before this SE Region Inter-club T15 season opener at Bewl was getting in the record books with the largest SE turnout for the first event of the season. In fact I might have been more concerned that we may make the record books for all the wrong reasons.

Following on from Clyde’s efforts meant that I had a tried and tested formula to follow, and a large number of pre-trained parents to call upon for assistance. This groundwork done by Clyde last season proved to be invaluable !

Fun and games in the morning

Lee & Debbie were on hand from BVSC representing the windsurfing sector of the club, and along with Jill from Bewl Windsurfing (Bewl Blasters team coach and centre principal) they were the perfect hosts for the event.

We had a little hiccup with the BVSC dinghy racers using a bit more of the water than could be considered polite, however they conceded when I ‘pulled rank’ and explained the sense in the relocation of their course. For the morning we had a window off opportunity to get a race or two in, and while I was negotiating this ‘window’, Jill set some alternative courses for the fleets.

Keeping things simple, we did beach starts and finishes for the morning, to maximise potential racing, and also to ensure the kids were not mixing with the dinghies on the water. After one race for the 5.5, 6.8 & Techno 6.8m classes, and 2 races for the 3.5 & 4.5m classes we adjourned for lunch …. Well the kids did. My team of willing volunteers were busing transposing results to my score sheet while Jill and I went out to set the course for the afternoon racing.

Stepping it up in the afternoon

For the 5.5, 6.8 & Techno 6.8m fleets we’d set a longer and quite challenging course, but with the wind being a bit up and down had a cunning short course option. We also opted for a proper startline on the water, utilising the two ends of the jetties to make the line. Having only had the one race before lunch we were keen to get a bit more racing in for the afternoon, but being early season, we did allow them a breather.

The 3.5m fleet continued with their out & back single buoy course and just wanted to keep going. This fleet could have done twice as many races if we’d let them ! The 4.5m fleet had a longer course, with 2 buoys used to give them a triangular course, and the longer course saw them tire a little before the 3.5’s !

Not wanting to list results within the report, I’ll steer you to explore the site a little deeper and find them out for yourselves. You may even discover the new ‘gallery’ section where your event pictures will be hosted if you want to email them in. For now we have a couple of shots up that I snapped between running around like an escaped circus artiste with an air-horn and some colourful flags as props.

Setting a great standard

Suffice it to say that I was very impressed with the standard of windsurfing demonstrated by all the kids, and especially by the improvements seen over the course of the day from those who’d only been windsurfing a couple of times beforehand, and were also at their first ever event. Merit awards were handed out to Jess Dudfield of Bewl Blasters and also to Zara Petts of Hythe Hotshots who both demonstrated determination and signs of really enjoying their day. I don’t think these two stopped smiling all day, and that’s what I want to see, lots of smiling faces.

Wanting to set something out to mark my events as different to that which people were expecting and been used to under Clyde’s reign, and perhaps just a little attempt to disguise some of the organisational learning curve, I had a chat with one of my sponsors (Graeme Fuller at Surf-Sales) and talked him into providing some demo kit for the kids to try out during the day. The initial idea evolved, and Saturday, only hours after the Folkstone earthquake, we were unpacking, preparing & loading onto my van, 3 brand new boards for the kids to try out – 2 x Mahalo tandems and a Warp X 380 raceboard, both from the Exocet stable.

This masterstroke provided much needed respite between finishing the last race and sorting the prizegiving so we could make sense of all the results. Only now would the enthusiasm to get lots of races in highlight a downside, lots & lots of serious adding up, and subtraction too !

The (competitive) spirit of competition

With Hythe looking to be the dominant force winning 3 from the 5 fleets, I really had to check & re-check my sums when I worked out the team scores ! I’m not sure how close these events are normally, however with only one point between each placing, Hythe were placed 3rd, Bewl 2nd and Aquasports took the win. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I can only suggest that this season will be a battle royale for top honours in the SE region.

The spirit of the competition was quite impressive, certainly all the kids showed great maturity and respect for each other throughout the day. I think the parents were probably more ‘competitive’ than the kids in some respects, but whether this was to test the new boy, or a sign of the serious side to the T15 scene I’m unsure. I think it was to test me if honest, and from some of the feedback I have received the concensus of opinion does seem positive.

There were only a couple of potential banana skins with my scoring (both in the 4.5m class), one being one of the Aquasports youngsters opting to paddle most of the race, and the other with a Hythe youngster not quite rounding a mark and being ‘dobbed in’ by two Aquasports racers. It looks like I will have to lay the law down at the next event to ensure everyone plays by the rules, and that no-one forgets that first and foremost this is supposed to be fun. Credit to young A.Barry of Hythe who once aware of his misdemeanour was honest enough admit his error. If I had a 3rd merit certificate, he would have received it for sure. The paddling incident was excused as the board/rider pairing crossed the start line in windsurf mode, and also the finish line, and actually completed the course with no outside assistance, although I did consult the other team coaches to ensure they were in agreement with my decision. I think a no-paddling rule will be invoked for future events just so we all know where the lines have been drawn.

Complications aside, I found the day to be most rewarding with so many kids having really enjoyed their day windsurfing. The parents also seemed to enjoy the day, and I’m sure that having enjoyed a good day of exercise and fresh air, sleeping wouldn’t have been an issue for anyone.

Congratulations and thanks - a great start to the season

Congratulations to all the winners, to Aquasports for taking the team victory, and thanks to everyone for all their help, advice, support, encouragement and compliments following the close of play. Hopefully you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ll be back for the next event (as opposed to heading for the high ground) and I look forward to another fun event with lots of windsurfing for the kids.

Perhaps the parents should take their wetsuits too, as Aquasports are running a demo over the weekend too ….. try all the kit you like, but stay off my T15 course or I’ll be forced to set the kids on you all !

 See you in June

 Krafty