Windsurfing at the Olympics is under threat again. To find out what the current state of play is and get the lowdown on the British Sailing Team’s RS:X racers, Finn Mullen spoke to Ian Walker, the RYA’s Director of Racing.

Words  Finn Mullen, Ian Walker  //  Photos Rya, Richard Langdon / Sailing Energy / World Sailing, Jesus Renedo / Sailing Energy / World Sailing

This feature originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Windsurf Magazine

FM: Windsurfing is under threat for the 2024 Olympics – can you explain what has led to this and where we are at presently with appeals and the procedure process and the RYA’s part in it.

IW: Olympic disciplines are reviewed every four years by World Sailing. There are two review processes currently being carried out. In January the World Sailing Board placed four of the current ten Olympic sailing disciplines – RS:X men and women, Laser and Laser Radial – under anti-trust review due to the threat of legal action under EU Monopoly laws. The purpose of an anti-trust review is to ensure that World Sailing reviews those disciplines for which equipment has been in place for a long period of time and where there is a risk of a legal challenge. In selecting disciplines for anti-trust review World Sailing is not making any statement concerning the current equipment. World Sailing will make the decision to retain, evolve or select new equipment in November 2018.

Separate to this is the process by which World Sailing will select the disciplines for the 2024 Olympics at their mid-year meeting in May 2018 (likely to still be ten classes). The fact that there will need to be gender equity in the medals in 2024 means that at least one class will have to change. As of March 2018 there are five disciplines under review including men’s and women’s windsurfing – these were decided by the World Sailing Events Committee and approved by Council in February 2018. At the World Sailing mid-year meeting a ‘slate’ of five disciplines will need to be approved by the World Sailing Council. Britain has one of the 39 votes on Council.

The RYA recognises the pressure being put on World Sailing by the IOC agenda to modernise its sports, but has always supported the idea of windsurfing being part of the Olympics. Windsurfing is one of the most affordable and universal disciplines and as such should be well placed to remain in the Olympics, but it is all subject to the normal politics. Remember that whatever is agreed in May needs to be ratified at the AGM in November (which is how the kiteboarding / windsurfing decision was reversed last time).

FM: How has it affected the current Olympic windsurfing program of team GB.

IW: The British Sailing Team’s windsurfing program is currently enjoying some good results in both men’s and women’s divisions and the program is not affected in any way by any of World Sailing’s discussions. The RS:X class is seeing strong growth and our youth pathway remains strong.

FM: Do you think there will be any changes to Olympic windsurfing equipment?

IW: Despite recent manufacturing changes to masts and fins, and some changes to sails, the RS:X board remains pretty much the same as when it was adopted in 2008. There is no change to the equipment being used at Tokyo 2020 from Rio 2016. The only recent change in format has been the advent of reaching starts for medal races. If selected for 2024 the class will need to find ways to ‘modernise’. This could include foiling, but is more likely to mean an evolution in race format. 

FM: What is the British Sailing Team’s current schedule in preparation for the games and how have we been doing?

 IW: The focus is currently the 2018 Sailing World Championship in Aarhus, Denmark, this summer. This is the first opportunity for countries to qualify for Tokyo 2020. Outside of this there is the normal monthly international event schedule coupled with trying to find time to train in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic venue of Enoshima. Nick Dempsey’s retirement following Rio 2016 presents a great opportunity in the men’s class for other Brits to step out of his shadow. Both Kieran Martin and Tom Squires have notched up impressive results in the last 12 months. Kieran missed a lot of the regattas in 2017 to concentrate on university studies but still managed to finish 5th at the 2017 RS:X World Championship. Tom came fourth in the World Cup Series in Miami in January this year and also won the recent Andalusian Olympic Week.

In the women’s division we have seen the return of Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Bryony Shaw following the birth of her first child in 2017, and also the emergence of rising star Emma Wilson, who at 18 years old is the reigning youth world champion and is holding her own on the senior circuit. Saskia Sills, a former youth world and European champion, will be joining Bryony and Emma on the campaign trail full time now her studies are nearing completion. In addition to this group in the senior British Sailing Programme we have another layer of aspiring RS:X sailors, supported through the RYA Pathway, who, while realistically will be targeting 2024, will have an eye on the 2020 process also.  

FM: Finally, if someone wants to be selected for Olympic windsurfing what is the route into Team GB?

IW: The RYA has an established pathway programme from junior level right the way through to senior level to identify and develop the best racing sailors in the world. The best way onto the programme is to attend an Olympic Classes National Ranker regatta. Results from these regattas form part of the qualification process for funding and places at selected international regattas.

With regards to Olympic selection, the trials process is open for anyone eligible to compete for Great Britain, and the first selection regattas (yet to be confirmed) will be in the spring of 2019. Success at the Olympic trials would result in selection to represent Team GB at the pre-Olympics. The pre-Olympics is the Olympic test event that takes place a year before the event proper in the same venue as the Olympics. Performance at the pre-Olympics determines whether a sailor is then selected for the Olympics.

Editor’s note – Team GB is the name of the country’s Olympic team only when the Olympics is on, and even then is only the sailing arm of Team GB. For all times outside of the Olympic Games it is the British Sailing Team.

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