The Team 15 windsurfers have had a busy season with the last event in the series at Monikie Country Park last month, while some of the young windsurfers also joined the BWA Future Pros in Tiree last week.
We caught up with Team 15 coordinator Sami Poole.
“2019 has seen Scottish youth windsurfing go from strength to strength. The Team 15 inter club series have help introduce new comers into the world of windsurf competition and challenged those Team 15 regulars to step up to the next level.”
“We have seen our young windsurfers perform at UK national events such as the Eric Twiname’s and the Team 15 Champions cup and come away with some outstanding results. The drive and bond of these young athletes is pushing windsurfing as a whole throughout Scotland.”
“Recently most of the Team 15 group set out to tackle the waves and wind of Tiree. They got to rub shoulders with professional windsurfers taking part in the Tiree Wave Classic while they spent their week as part of the British Wavesailing Associations Future Pros wave camp.”
“Looking towards the coming year we have selected 12 of our sailors to train over the winter and will be putting not only there windsurf skills to the test but also laying out the framework to develop throughout 2020.”
“I have been involved with Team 15 for 3 years in Scotland and I am so proud of everyone who has made 2019 such a success. Instructors,volunteers,clubs, parents and windsurfers, without their passion and commitment none of what has been achieved this year would be possible and with this community driving us forward I think 2020 is going to be even better.”
Monikie Maniacs Event
The final team 15 event of 2019 was held at Monikie Country park and hosted by the Monikie Maniacs over the weekend of the 14/15th of September. This event also played host as a Scottish Techno Performance Squad selector and had in attendance RYA Scotland’s High performance manager Abbie Hewitt and also Head coach Gavin Dunlop to see what Team 15 has been up to over the season.
From the word go the team set out to show what Scottish youth windsurfing is all about and that is what they delivered. Fun, determination, inclusivity and community seemed to permeate throughout the weekend which lead to this being one of the best events of the whole year.
With briefing out the way on the first day, the team took to the water with some strong and shifty wind conditions. Our more experienced windsurfers ran through their paces with Gavin working on board control skills and how to handle the shifting conditions. Team Grom were by far the most impressive group on the water showing even though the wind was strong they would not be phased and sailed to the best of their ability. The conditions were new to some of our sailors and their attitude shows great potential for the future of Scottish windsurfing.
The Sunday dawned with lighter conditions and we set out to run some competitions. We set up a triangular course with an upwind gate finish for everyone. We managed 3 races before heading in for lunch. BBQ and toasted marshmallows sufficiently consumed the wind then dropped considerably. So we all grabbed a paddle and took to the water for a paddle board race and some games. The wind filled back in fortunately allowing two more races on the course before we came back off the water for final prize giving of 2019.
Results from Monikie Maniacs Team 15 Event:
7.8
1st Millie- Clyde Barracudas
2nd Sam- Newburgh Sea Gorrilaz
6.8
1st Dylan- Clyde Barracudas
2nd Jan – Newburgh Sea Gorrilaz
5.8
1st Kyle – Loch Insh MonStars
2nd- Anna – Clyde Barracudas
3rd Dylan- Loch Insh MonStars
4.5
1st -Amina – Port Edgar Pirates
2nd Archie- Team 15
3rd Donald- Monikie Maniacs
3.5
1st Emily – Monikie Maniacs
2nd Calliadh – Monikie Maniacs
3rd Darcy – Port Edgar Pirates and Becca – Newburgh Sea Gorrilaz
Interclub series winners – Loch Insh Monstars
Sami adds. “Big thank you to the team at Monikie Country Park and thank you to our Monikie Maniac hosts. This event was a fantastic end to an amazing series, hosted up and down the country. We really hope everyone has enjoyed this year will keep training throughout the winter to be ready for next year’s Interclub series. We would also like to thank everyone who has been involved with our events this year and show casing the spirit of Team 15.”
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