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Future of Windsurfing
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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 783
Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well said.
And, as everybody has mentioned... absolutlely whatever we can do to support kids in windsurfing, is very good for us all.

And along that line... the thing that amazed me most about doing the National's in Hood River last summer was the impressive number of 15 to 25 year olds !!
I totally expected all the racers to be in their 40's, 50's and 60's Smile
And, that was partially true.
But I really was shocked, that between 15% and 25% of all the slalom and Course racing particpants were under 30.
I'm not so surprised to see that stat at the Hatchery. But racing? Yes, amazing but true !!

THAT was the biggest indicator to me, that, windsurfing is NOT dead. Which is what I always tell people... but to see all those kids racing... yeah, that proved it Smile
Greg -
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Definitely not dead in the Gorge, just as Snow Skiing/Snowboarding is not
dead in Utah ;*)

-Craig

gregnw44 wrote:
But I really was shocked, that between 15% and 25% of all the slalom and Course racing particpants were under 30.
I'm not so surprised to see that stat at the Hatchery. But racing? Yes, amazing but true !!

THAT was the biggest indicator to me, that, windsurfing is NOT dead. Which is what I always tell people... but to see all those kids racing... yeah, that proved it Smile
Greg -
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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 783
Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="cgoudie1"]Definitely not dead in the Gorge, just as Snow Skiing/Snowboarding is not
dead in Utah ;*)

Correct, not dead at all.
But still, a huge decline in the Gorge, compared to, say, '85 to '95.
Of course, it doesn't "look" like that, on a BIG day at Roosevelt (or wherever) in the summer. But the numbers don't lie... the Gorge saw a big decline... just like the Bay area, or Maui, and everywhere else.

Anyway, the kids racing... that was very cool and inspiring. I mean, I do what I do just for fun. But in general there's a different mind set, that encourages someone to learn cool new freestyle tricks at the Hatchery. As opposed to the tactical and competitive "shoulder to shoulder" thing, when you're trying to do a start, in a race... or plan your transition around a fixed buoy, etc.
And seeing ALL the 15 to 25 year olds at National's really made me feel confident about new growth Smile

And skiing and snowboarding taken as a whole, are doing just fine everywhere. There's been a shift (started 2 years ago) back to skiing from boarding by new students. (Snowboarding kinda saved skiing.)
But anyway, the shops and areas that have survived... are doing just fine.

And I think it'll be the same for windsurfing. The hard cores, like us will continue... And we will get some new blood into it as well... and the companys that have survived will continue.
But it won't ever be like it was "back in the day". And although that was fun... it'll be just fine this way too !!
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benspikey



Joined: 02 Aug 2008
Posts: 167

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2013 7:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Windsurfing is alive and well, and done by real enthusiasts rather than fashionistas who are mostly dangling off kites this week.

Say same thing about snowboarding vs. sking today.

OR...

More than a third of American youth of military age are unfit for service, mainly because they are too fat or sickly, the Army Times reports, quoting the latest Pentagon figures.

Most of the rest are too dumb or have used too many drugs to qualify, the study shows.

The report says 35% of the 31 million Americans aged 17 to 24 are unqualified because of physical and medical issues.

"The major component of this is obesity," Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon's director of accessions, tells the Times. "We have an obesity crisis in the country. There's no question about it."

He also said young people, by and large, can't do push-ups.

"And they can't do pull-ups," Gilroy says. " And they can't run."

doubt they can windsurf..
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I saw a very interesting article in Wind Surfing magazine a few years ago about a windsurfing shop owner who said "teach the parents and the kids will follow". This makes a lot of sense.

A few posters here have said that to keep windsurfing going we need to bring more youth into the sport, which seems obvious, but what's the best way to do that? Bring the parents! You'd need some very dedicated parents to put out a bunch of money for gear & lessons, then drive their kids to the launch and sit in the wind while they windsurf. Wind sucks when you're not windsurfing!

But if Mom & Dad are going windsurfing, too, the kids will be going, and Mom & Dad can teach them how. Later on, the kids will inherit the parent's old gear, and a windsurfer is born!

I'm sorry I can't remember who that shop owner was, but he had some really good insights into the world of windsurfing, like the above.

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Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

spennie wrote:
But if Mom & Dad are going windsurfing, too, the kids will be going, and Mom & Dad can teach them how. Later on, the kids will inherit the parent's old gear, and a windsurfer is born!

Until the kids discover the other sex, the computer, and/or Red Bull; then it's hormones and electronics 20 hours a day.
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Only if you let them.
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Spennie the Wind Junkie
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How many parents actually stop kids from doing just about anything they choose to do ... two? ... and only until their later teens?
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