RYA Easter Windsurf Camp begins at Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy
by Philippa Holloway 10 Apr 2013 15:20 BST
10-12 April 2013
RYA UKWA National Windsurfing Championships 2010 © RYA / Paul Wyeth
The RYA Easter Windsurf Camp is starting today at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) from Wednesday 10th – Friday 12th April 2013. 65 budding windsurfers are due to descend on the 2012 London Olympic Sailing and Windsurfing venue for the National and Regional Zone Squad Camp. The 2012 Games gave the area of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour worldwide exposure and recognition as some of the best sailing waters on the planet.
Local windsurfing hero Nick Dempsey won his silver medal on home waters at the Olympic Games in 2012 before claiming gold at the recent RS:X World Championships in the Brazilian venue of Buzios in Rio De Janeiro; the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games. Fellow windsurfing icon Bryony Shaw also achieved her first podium finish at the RS:X World Championships as she collected her silver medal, both of which frequently take advantage of the superb facilities and training conditions at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.
The Easter Camp for windsurfers taking place this week forms part of the RYA Zone Squad winter training, bringing the entire countries Zone Squad windsurfers together for the penultimate weekend of the 2012/2013 Zone Squad training.
RYA Senior High Performance Manager (HPM) Chris Atherton commented; "This is culmination of the winter training of all the sailors within RYA Windsurfer National and Regional Zone Squads. The sailors will be taking to the waters at WPNSA to fine tune their skills in preparation for the coming season and their aspirational goals for 2013. We wish them all every success."
WPNSA is also home to the Official Test Centre for Windsurfing (OTC) providing access to windsurfing for everyone. Anyone who is looking to get into windsurfing can have lessons at the OTC's affiliated RYA Training Centre at any level. Prices start from £45 for a 2 hour taster windsurfing session.