FOCUS

“Athletes who are able to stay completely focused in pursuit of their dreams are the ones that are most likely to become champions.” – Steve Backley OBE, former javelin World Record Holder. As the competition season closes, we ‘focus’ on the champions and podium placers who were successful in their 2016 PWA campaigns. What was their focus, how did they maintain it and how will they carry it to 2017? Read on for some motivation for your own season ahead.

Words John Carter, Finn Mullen //

Photos John Carter

Originally published within the January February ’17 edition.

MATTEO IACHINO – 2016 PWA Slalom Champion
My focus has been to do everything in my power to be here in this moment as PWA World slalom champion. For the past six years I have been working in this direction. I have been focusing on windsurfing and slalom training. I have trained in every kind of condition in and out of the water. I think if you want to be first in something, whatever it is, if it’s sport or your career, if you want to be at the top you need to be focused 100%. If you don’t focus on this then there will be somebody else that is more switched on than you. It is a matter of what you care about and how much you want to push yourself. I try to train in every aspect of racing. I practice gybing, starts and how to improve my speed. After what happened last year before the last event, I tried to work on my mind as well. I think it is really important as a professional sportsperson to be ready and focused with your mind. Anything can happen but you need to keep your mind clear of all the possibilities that can affect you and not stress. You have to take one day at a time. I had to learn how to keep my mental side focused. After last year in New Caledonia I learned a lot from what I experienced.

My dreams keep me focused. Since I started windsurfing when I was ten, my dream was to become a professional windsurfer. I wanted to live my dream, travel round the world, compete on the world tour and be the best one day. If you have that in your mind all the time as your goal, then when you are out of focus, you just think about that again and go back to your dream. On your equipment you need to focus on everything. When you go with a sponsor it is not just about the money like everybody thinks. You need to find the best combination of boards and sails. Maybe you don’t get paid so much money but you won’t get anywhere on slow gear. First of all you test the combinations that you have and you try to choose the best out of your possibilities. Then when you have that, you have to test the masts with the sails and the sails with the boards. When you have the perfect combination with your sponsors then you need to adjust the fins. That takes even longer because you need to test all the fins with all the boards, all the different set ups and in all the conditions. So basically you need to spend lots of hours on the water testing and training in every kind of condition to be ready and again, to be ready mentally.
You need to know that whatever is going to happen you are prepared. You need to be focused and confident that in any situation that arises you have done your homework and know exactly which setup you are going to use. If you are ready then you at least have given it a 100% chance. If you have doubts about the conditions where you don’t know if you are fast or ready or scared that you are not competitive then you are not going to be confident on the water and that will affect your focus. You could lose because of that. All year my focus has just been about the end of this season and the title. Now I will go on holidays and reset! Then I will think about 2017. Right now the one thing I cannot focus on is 2017!

MARCILIO “BRAWZINHO” BROWNE – 2016 PWA Wave world number 3
I like to focus on my sailing and improving myself personally. It is not hard for me to focus on windsurfing because that is what I enjoy! I always wanted to be a pro sailor. I want to be paid to do it and not have another job. I work as hard as I can but for me, it is not really ‘work’! I travel throughout the year going to places that are firing in the right seasons. I don’t know if I can call that work because if money was no object it is what I would have done anyway. I try to stay fit and eat healthy so I feel I have a clear head; nutrition wise it’s just the basic stuff like not too much sugar! I stretch and sail as much as possible. I don’t sail heats! I did that in the past and did not enjoy it. I just go out and rip as hard as possible now. I like to have equipment that works in different conditions. When the wind is strong I like sails that are stable and can manage the big gusts. Same with boards, I like to have a lot of control. In down the line I like to have boards that flex enough to sail in light winds. I have slightly different boards for all conditions. My sails are the same for all conditions as I feel they work for everything. That is what I focus on, simplifying everything! I like to have equipment that works everywhere.
My focus for next year is not any different. Every event I go to I try to do my best. Some events work well, some events have little moments that can prevent you from doing well. One moment can make a drastic change at the end of the year. My focus is not going to change from what I have been doing the last five years. I go early to the locations, sail as hard as I can and try and make my best heats. Everything for me is about windsurfing. I really enjoy the moves and I enjoy progressing. I don’t like it when I feel my level is stagnant. I like to make sure I am moving forward. If I score decent results that is even better. My main focus is not to be stuck in a rut. In the past I was really into tricks but in the last two years I have been focusing on turns. Now I am trying to balance it a little bit. Port tack was my weakest area but I put a lot of work into it and I had an awesome second place result in Tenerife this year.

DAIDA MORENO – 2016 PWA Wave Vice World Champion
My focus in life is to be happy, healthy and stay fit. If those things are all there then everything else falls into place. In training I focus on making my legs stronger so I can have more lift either jumping or wave riding. I do a lot of cycling for that, especially climbing up the mountains. I focus also on all the moves while I am wave riding. Not only to have the timing to hit the lip correctly but also trying to improve my moves like goiters, 360’s and takas. I try to stay focused by trying to stay motivated and keep enjoying my windsurfing. I go out in the water everyday it is windy. That keeps me motivated for my events. My focus with my equipment is to have the sail rigged really light. Because we are women, we have less strength than the men. The light equipment we have with Severne really helps. It is easy to handle the sail when it is light. With the board, I focus a lot with the fin settings. I reckon the fin settings are 60% of how your boards perform.
My focus for next year…since 2012 I have been losing the world title, except in 2013 where there was only one event counting. It was a world title but it didn’t mean the same. I would like to win again after I went through cancer and all the chemo. The illness was really bad for me. In my inner self, I would like to win to ‘flip the page’. I went through really bad cancer and all the recovery; I still managed to stay second which I feel was a great achievement. But to be world champion again will be my focus for 2017.

IBALLA MORENO – 2016 PWA Wave Champion
At this stage of my life my focus is to enjoy my life and enjoy my time on the water. That is what brings me happiness! When I am in the water I forget about any problems outside. The last two years I have done a lot of physical training. That gives me the base and the strength to perform in the water. I have not only been focusing on windsurfing but also stand up paddle. That gives me a lot of security in the water and more confidence.
My motivation keeps me focused. I am always motivated to learn new things and I spend as much time as possible participating in my sports. As long as there are waves, I don’t care if there is wind or not, I can always be out there enjoying myself. My equipment from Starboard and Severne is awesome. When we receive our boards and sails everything seems to work perfectly. Along with the fin set ups from Maui Ultra Fins, I feel like I don’t have much to do. All I have to focus on is going in the water and sailing and riding it. In 2017 my focus is the same as the last two years. I am trying to combine both sports at a high level. I want to spend as much time in the water, train hard, improve and basically I’d love to become world champion in both windsurfing and SUP. Two sports at the same time. Though if I am second to Daida, it still feels like I am a world champion.

VICTOR FERNANDEZ – 2016 PWA Wave World Champion
My focus is just having a normal life. Doing what I like the most, which is windsurfing and staying healthy. Also being surrounded by my friends, family and my wife! These people make me more focused for my job and help me relax when I compete. They all like what I do and understand why I focus so much energy into windsurfing. I train a lot in the water, but I have been focusing more on my strength outside the water. In the last six years I have been working with two trainers to help me avoid more injuries. If I am stronger then I can go harder when I am sailing. My coaches in Almeria tell me what I have to do depending on the time of the year. I do a lot of work in the gym. When we are competing I work more on my strength in the gym or in the pool. I stretch every day. When I am not competing I do TRX training and balance work outs. I eat healthy. I think all these things help me to sleep better and then the next day I am ready and focused! I am not a drinker. Sometimes I have a beer or a glass of wine with friends. I drink one or two beers but that is it. I am not a party guy. My drug is windsurfing. I want to get up early for the next day with a clear mind. If you go party until midnight, the next day you feel tired and will not perform as well. My focus with equipment is having speed with my boards. Speed is the key for me. If you have speed after a trick on the wave you are ready to set up for the next move. With more speed you go higher also. I have amazing equipment with the lightest accessories. The way my boards and sails are rigged make the sailing easier. I develop the best boards for every location and type of conditions. Already for Hawaii I have my favourite boards. I focused a lot on developing them and I also worked a lot on the fins with MFC.

I stay focused by listening to music while I am competing. On a competition day I like to test the conditions before I compete. It makes me more relaxed if I have tested different boards and know what setup is best for the day. Every day we compete, the conditions are different. When I go to the water for my heat I am confident I am on the right set up which I think is important. We have so many options these days you need to be sure you are on the right set up.
2017 I haven’t thought about yet; I will probably do the same thing but maybe go to Cape Town or Chile for some extra training.

SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA – 2016 PWA Slalom and Freestyle World Champion
My focus is progress and developing myself further in anything I do. That’s how I stay motivated to do things. Because if you’re not progressing your standing still, and then things get boring. I guess that’s why I moved into different disciplines in windsurfing. An important part of progressing is liking what you do. After trying all these disciplines I’ve come to find that the things I can learn in this sport are endless. And that the more I learn, the more fun this sport becomes!
There are different types of training sessions for me. Usually I go out on the water with a specific move in mind, but I adapt my focus depending on the conditions and how I’m performing. Sometimes that specific move goes well and I keep on practicing till my arms drop off. Other days I’m out of focus and I just do the moves that I can already do. Usually I’ll be a bit bored by the end and not satisfied with the session, because I didn’t push myself. Other sessions I’m so inspired by windsurfing that it doesn’t matter. I crash hard, I land a new move, I’m stoked about landing a move I did a thousand times. Those are the best sessions. For freestyle I focus on learning moves both sides. Isn’t it cool that per definition as a windsurfer we are ambidextrous! Since I don’t have a surfing background, for wave sailing I’m focused on getting more wave knowledge. I’ve been getting more into regular surfing to understand how the wave works. For slalom, I’m focused on understanding my gear better and gaining knowledge on what setup works best. I stay focused when I put things in perspective. Sometimes I lose my focus, but by looking back on what I’ve achieved, evaluating where I am right now and thinking about where I want to go, I reset myself and get back on track. I think sometimes it’s okay to lose the focus, because sometimes the reserves are just empty and you need to recharge. I think that’s exactly where you should relax, re-evaluate things and then go for it when the energy is back. I stay focused when I’m inspired. When I compete on tour I’m surrounded by the best people in the world and that’s inspiring. It also restores my focus. I’ve moved into new disciplines to challenge myself and stay inspired. Is it weird to say that music keeps me focused? Put on the right sounds and I can tackle the world. Bring it on!

Since last year I started to focus more on my gear setup. For slalom this is crucial, but it matters a lot for freestyle and waves as well. Not just having the right downhaul, but also figuring out which masts works better with what sail and in what conditions. Strap positioning, base positioning, fin position, boom height, harness line position and length. Everything influences each other. I’m more focused on getting the little things right so that ultimately all the little adjustments lead to the best setup and that will enhance my performance on the water. For 2017 I’m so excited to progress in wave sailing. I can’t believe I started so late in this discipline. I’ve improved quite a bit every year since I started and it seems the fun in this discipline is endless! Sure I’d like to be on the podium again next year. But honestly I just want to land double loops and push forwards. Now watch me whip, now watch me nae nae!

JAEGER STONE – 3rd place 2016 PWA Waves Gran Canaria & Sylt
My focus over the last year or two has been to make sure I enjoy my windsurfing, travelling and experiences as much as possible. I’m really lucky to be able to windsurf for the majority of the year and travel the world, working hard to make the most out of all my opportunities and becoming the best windsurfer I can be in all types of conditions is important to me. Winning the World Title has always been an ambition but I want to have fun along the way with the people around me.
I focus my training on windsurfing. Windsurfing and surfing are always the priority over any other form of training. I enjoy doing many other forms of exercise though so I fit that in around work, windsurfing and surfing. I focus my land-based training on exercises that I feel will help me become a better windsurfer, reduce my chance of injury and that I enjoy so I’m happy to keep doing it. This year I’ve been doing a lot of swimming, cycling, yoga and body-weight resisted exercise and I try to mix it up through the week.

I think for me that having the right balance is important. If I’m only windsurfing sometimes I feel like everyday is a repetition of the last, which isn’t at all bad but I like having something else to focus on as well which for me is Physiotherapy. Learning is something I’m really passionate about and nothing motivates me more to windsurf then when it’s windy and I’m at work. Fortunately my work is flexible and I live in one of the best windsurfing locations in the world so I can always get my windsurfing fix very quickly. I also think that wanting to be the best at everything I do keeps me focused. The focus with my equipment is for it to feel comfortable, controlled and progressive. I’d say that they are 3 really important factors for me for both my sails and boards and these factors all work hand-in-hand. If I’m comfortable and have complete control over my gear I feel like I can do whatever I want and that’s when I feel my level improves. It really helps working with Starboard and Severne who share similar views and values. My focus for 2017 is to continue learning, enjoy my travels and opportunities and try to become a better windsurfer.