Fat Face National Windsurfing Festival 2/3 Sept.

2/3 SEPT 2006

This event is for you and you will all be pleased to hear that it's all coming together nicely. We thought that now would be a good time to give you all a bit of an update!

As we hope you are all already aware, this event is aimed to bringing together the largest windsurfing sector, the free ride intermediate market, to an event offering a true festival atmosphere and a real low-keyed arena of competition.

With Fat Face as the title sponsor and the UKWA tasked with coordinating the whole event and support from the windsurfing industry, this is exactly what you will be offered with the enthusiasm of all those parties involved in organising this event is enormous by bringing you this unique event to grass route sailors.

The structure of the two days is as follows: racing will consist of a series of master blaster races throughout the day. This differs to many people's pre-conceptions and understanding of the relative complexities of racing. The format offered will be easy to understand with the main aim of creating a non-intimidating competition arena with a desire to ensure everyone has some FAT FACE FUN!!

There will be mass starts, run off the beach with a clearly identified point to race towards, navigate around, and then a race back to the finish line, on the beach downwind of where you all started from. People will ‘Finish' by touching the big Fat Face Flag on the beach.

The first few free-ride sailors to touch the Fat Face flagpole will be the main prize-winners for that race, so be prepared to sprint on landing if you really want those prizes.

There will be two distinct fleets, one for the more experienced ‘UKWA National & International competitors' who have come to join in, but also they will have come to offer support, advice, tips, and to encourage the main contingent of recreational windsurfers who've come for the ‘FESTIVAL'. This recreational contingent will be known as the Freeride fleet, just so you know when you fill in your entry form while considering what you are about to experience all day time fleets are just £20.00.

Please do take the opportunity to ask any questions or for advice from these more experienced competitors. Maybe you've seen all those pictures in the magazines of people such as Dan Ellis, Keith Atkinson, Nick Dempsey, Lucy Horwood, Xavier Ferlet, Alan Jackson, Paul Sibley, Paul Simmons, Amy Carter and the list goes on, all racing for top National and in some cases International, honours …. Many of these people, and many more, should be on hand at the Festival and might just have that crucial snippet of advice to give you an ‘advantage' over your closest competitors in your next race.

To further highlight how important having fun is relative to some peoples potential concerns about not owning the latest and greatest kit, there will also be a fancy dress prize and also prizes for equipment pre millennium, and pre 1985. There should be no excuse even if you feel your equipment is less than state of the art. Dust off your kit and re-introduce it to the water with some serious intent to have some fun.

There will be a number of races run over the weekend, however each race will be scored separately and prizes will be awarded to the Free-ride fleet for winners as well as any other pre-specified categories. Members of the Windsurfing industry have kindly sponsored each race, so there will be lots of different prizes on offer to tempt you out again. This will also ensure that no one is disadvantaged if they are only able to attend a smaller part of the weekend, though the more races that you enter, the more prizes you have the chance of winning.

As a real incentive, Fat Face have offered the winners an amazing opportunity to go through and sail as part of the first ever UK Windsurfing Fat Face Night Series, which as it suggests, will be flood lit and you'll get the chance to pit your newly acclaimed skills against the professionals.

For those of you who windsurf in packs, there is also a team event that consists of four free-ride sailors, of any age or gender. The general idea is for these teams to represent their local Windsurfing retailer, which may encourage your retailer to offer you a bit of a deal on that essential new item too, so it's worth speaking to your retailer to encourage them to get a team together.

Please note, that even as a team member, you can still compete for individual honours. Equally, each shop can enter as many teams as they wish, and with the prize being a multidiscipline water sports holiday for two, courtesy of Fat Face that will go to the winning teams sponsor, e.g. "The Retailer" the incentive is definitely there for your retailer to support you as best they can. For further details get along to your local shop and sign up, they will have the relevent information and pre entry forms.

We have also arranged for Windsurfing pros to be on hand to discuss all the latest equipment and offer friendly advice, giving their time to support you the free-ride windsurfer. There will also be windsurfing clinics held throughout the weekend on various aspects of the sport by renowned and respected GURU's such as Peter Hart, Simon Bornhoft, John Hibbard, Jem Hall, Jim Collis, Dan Ellis, Dave White …. to name but a few.

They will be offering their services free of charge but it would be fair to warn you to expect to see them rattling a collection box under your noses in aid of the RNLI, give generously, the RNLI do.

On the beach supporting this event will also be the 2 local retail windsurfing shops, from Hayling, Shore Sports and Andy Biggs windsurfing assisting the newcomer or intermediate sailor on various coaching aspects of the sport.

The Windsurfing Industry will be on hand to give friendly, and expert advice while taking the opportunity to show off their ‘new for 2007' windsurfing equipment, and giving you the opportunity to check out those ‘must buy' offerings first hand.

During the Saturday afternoon, the knock out rounds for the Fat Face Night Series Supercross/Freestyle competition will commence. Entry is open to any standard of windsurfer and once again there will be just two main classes, giving the opportunity for recreational windsurfers to participate. The pros will also be on hand, and you could wind up competing with the likes of Fat Face's own John Hibbard, or perhaps the likes of Ben Proffit, Andy ‘Bubble' Chambers (the current British Freestyle Champion) with the possibility of a few International stars not yet confirmed.

Imagine being able to tell your mates at your local beach, or at work, or down the pub that you competed against, certainly a story to tell to your grand kids. Even better, you could qualify and then find yourself going forward to the night time event where you will get unique opportunity to compete in a flood lit arena situated right in front of crowds gathered at The Inn On The Beach. Live music will be playing below the floodlights erected by the marquee and the barbecue and refreshments will be keeping the crowds fed and watered as they wait in anticipation of YOUR BIG MOMENT.

Let the Fat Face party commence, did anyone mention that competitors receive free entry to the Fat Face Party as well as a food and drink voucher to set you on your way to having a memorable night.

Local radio station, Power FM radio station will be on site all weekend and there will be regular live updates and interviews from the event broadcast to the region. There will be a Power FM Competition running during the build up of the competition with various prizes awarded so be sure to tune in to 103.2 FM.

Havant Borough Council have been very pro-active in supporting this event, and have kindly allowed free parking for all competitors on site over the event weekend. They are also very pleased to be welcoming such a grass roots windsurfing event to the birthplace of the sport itself, Hayling Island.

And just as you think it's all over, the kits been packed back in your motor, the Night Series prize giving has finished, don't rush off as you'll be treated to a Fat Face firework display lighting the night sky.

Perhaps that isn't enough to convince you that you are being offered sufficient value for money, or perhaps you think that the event will become a distant memory over time. Competitors will each receive a Fat Face rash vest identifying them as 2006 Fat Face National Windsurfing Festival competitors, which they can not only keep, they can wear back on their local beach to remind any of their windsurf buddies who missed the event, that ‘YOU WERE THERE!'

You can download an Entry form.

Regards

Allan Cross
Event Organiser