One of the best things about BUCS is the variety of sports that are on offer to university students. One of the more distinct sports that students are able to compete in is windsurfing.
With the 2022 BUCS Windsurfing Championships less than two weeks away, Freshered has put together this handy article to ensure you are all clued up ahead of the commencement of competition.
What is Windsurfing?
I think it is only fair to start an article about windsurfing with a quick introduction to what the sport is all about. As you might assume, the basics of the sport are using the wind to surf on the water. It is a combination of sailing and surfing, and first come to prominence in the late 1960s, in California.
The main two pieces of equipment for the sport are the board, and the sail. And yes, the sport is sometimes referred to as sailboarding.
The boards are often sorted into two categories- longboards, and shortboards. A board is classified as a longboard if it is above three metres in length, meaning shortboards are those which are less than three metres.
Nowadays, windsurfing sails are made out of monofilm, which is a clear polyster film, dacron, which is a woven polyster, and mylar, another polyster film. One of the key identifiers of the windsurfer’s ability is whether or not their sail has a batten or not.
A batten is the ‘main structure of a mainsail,’ which ‘support the sail shape, and improve overall durability.’ Beginner’s sails do not tend to have a batten, which makes the sails easier to use in light winds. As the windsurfer’s ability improves, adding a batten allows greater control in strong winds.
How is BUCS Windsurfing scored?
Over the days of competition, the windsurfers compete in a number of different races, with points awarded upon completion of the course. According to Student Windsurfing, first place is awarded half a point, meaning lower scored are better. Following the completion of all the heats, the competitor’s points are totalled up, excluding their worst finish. The windsurfer with the least points wins.
What are the different events at the BUCS Windsurfing Championships?
Student windsurfers can compete either individually, or in a team. For the individual events, there are three differing levels of ability: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. With your new batten knowledge, I’m sure you’ll be able to identify the ability of the race whilst spectating.
When and where are the BUCS Windsurfing Championships taking place?
The event is taking place in less than two weeks, over the weekend of March 19 and 20. The venue for the event is Bowmoor Lake, in Gloucestershire. Competitors have until Monday March 14 to enter.
Good luck to all those competing. Let’s hope there’s lots of wind that weekend