Windsurfing

About

After a fairly quiet year last year the new and improved NUIG Windsurfing Club is back and looking forward to a successful upcoming year. The club caters for everybody from beginners to experts. We run lessons with our own newly purchased equipment and our own ISA instructors from Rusheen bay in Galway. We have some trips away planned for this year to places like Belmullet and we have a very active social calendar planned. If you feel like getting involved please sign-up to our mailing list on "yourspace". We will be having weekly sessions out on the water with our highly trained coaches. Keep your eyes on the email for news of other events on and off the water! Join us on facebook!!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=112961915394681&ref=ts

Lots Of Wind,

Sean Dillane NUIG Windsurfing Club Captain

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History

Windsurfing is an amazingly young sport. Its roots are easily traced back to the garages of two Southern Californians. Jim Drake, a sailor, and Hoyle Schweitzer, a surfer, got together and thought about what could be... By 1968, they had combined their two sports into a workable, if not somewhat unusual, patented new hybrid sport. Schweitzer logically called it windsurfing, and the board, a windsurfer. The early 1980's were a period of tremendous growth for windsurfing. Racing participation was at an all time high, the professional World Cup tour was born, and the sport was awarded with Olympics status in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Equipment development progressed at a fevered pitch through the mid-80's as seen when a windsurfer captures the world speed sailing record at slightly faster than 36 knots. Since then, windsurfers on extremely specialised equipment, sailing in winds of 40 knots and above, have pushed that speed up to an incredible level. Irish man and Naish team member Finian Maynard holds the world speed record on a windsurfing board at an incredible speed of 48.6 knots (December 2003). That smashes the former outright speed record of the Yellow Pages Endeavour at 46.52 knots (October 1993). Now, after 27 short years, windsurfing is a fully matured sport, with destination resorts all over the world. Everyone from little kids to old fogies are windsurfing - practising the best sport in the world!!!

Achievements

Although the club was officially dormant last year and we received no funding, about 7 NUIG students entered the National Intervarsities held in Galway last year. Over 70 students entered representing over ten 3rd level institutes from around the country. Current Club captain Gwilym Williams took 1st place in the Gold Fleet, while Ailbhe McDermott and Katie McAnena competed in the Silver Fleet and finished on the podium.

Intervarsities

Intervarsities 2013/13: Date t.b.c Hosted by UL in Castlegreggory