Varsovia indoor exhibition event

5-7 September

Dziedobre !! Happy to say that I survived the Warsaw indoor competition.
I really didn’t know what to expect from this event or from Poland for that matter ( who would’ve thought I’d be walking around in shorts and sweating as opposed to wearing uggs and ploughing through snow!?).
It turned out to be an amazing experience, windsurfing in a pool with wind generated by massive fans, being cheered on by thousands of people and exploring the city. Warsaw and its people are beautiful.

The last time there was a PWA indoor event was about 8 years ago in France.
I remember having a chance to go but in the end not being one of the invitees.
Being invited this time and having a place in the main event for every discipline felt great! I won’t lie… On the first night I entered the stadium and saw the pool and the fans I was quite in awe. The moment the fans were turned on and started blowing 30 knots of wind across a 90m pool, butterflies were going crazy in my stomach and I was bursting from excitedness and nervousness at the same time. I ran to get my equipment and stood on the ramp to enter the pool in no time. I think I set a personal sail rigging and getting ready record right there.
Can you believe they decided to turn off the fans right when I thought they were going to press the button and let me in the pool !?!? Bummer !!

Friday
Official practice started the next morning at 8AM. We had about 3 slalom runs which would decided your seeding for the finals that night. On my first run in the pool I think I yelled with excitement for the whole 90m. What a rush!
For the slalom there were 2 buoys and we had to do a figure 8 jibing around the marks 3 times. Although I was having trouble getting back up to speed and making the mark for the 3rd time, I had the 2nd fastest time after local olympic hero Zofia Klepacka. I was sailing my 5,2 and 86l Kode. The rest of the morning I watched the mens freestyle and jump trials.

At 8pm exactly that night it was time for the qualifying rounds for the finals on Saturday. For the ladies they had only planned slalom.
As best seeded in my heat I would enter the pool first. I was up against Lena Erdil, Delphine Cousine and Justyna Sniady. I had a great start and made my first 2 jibes perfectly and then I had the same problem as in the morning. I couldn’t get planing to make it back up to the mark for the last jibe. I missed the mark and had to turn around so I could clear the mark but by then the other girls caught up with me and I finished last. Lena and Delphine would qualify for the finals. Zofia klepacka and Arrianne Aukeks were the winners from the 2nd heat.
Shooot! I Would’ve really liked to be in the final. But I’ll just have to make better equipment choices next time. Or was it because I wasn’t wearing my lucky helmet!?

Saturday
Another early morning as it was time for the girls jump and freestyle practice runs. Yes I did sign up for that ramp, but the moment I saw that thing I was in constant doubt whether or not I wanted to do it. But I told myself I HAD to. When am I ever going to get the chance to jump off of an indoor ramp? But what if I crash and destroy myself !? aahhhh SQ don’t worry you’ll be fine.
Then Head Judge Duncan came over to me and asked me if I wanted to hear the good news. SQ: sure ! Duncan: You’re up first!
(In my mind: HOW is that good news !?! I don’t wanna go anymooooree!!)
SQ: Great! What’s the bad news then?? Duncan: There is none. That was it.
All the girls were buzzing with excitement, but some way I managed to shut everything out and keep calm. I felt nothing when I entered the pool and was heading toards the ramp. All I thought about was going for the ramp as fast as possible so I wouldn’t get stuck on it. I think I tried to place my board on the ramp instead of sliding into the slot. My rail caught the ramp and I crashed on the ramp, catapulted and flipped over into the water. Wauw complete shock! What just happened!? Did my lucky helmet not work !? Took me about 20 minutes to get over the pain in my foot and the shock. Then decided to go for the ramp one more time. I didn’t want to leave without not jumping off of it. The 2nd time around I went quite slow and I cleared it. But that was it for me. No jump contest that night!
Did some freestyle practice afterwards almost landing double spocks on both sides. It was hard to pull of a shaka.

I’ve never really had a bad crash in my life so I think that’s why this one threw me off for the rest of the day. It wasn’t until right before we started the competition that night that I got myself together and in the mood to compete. What a rush it was being presented in front of thousands of people, flashing lights and camera’s everywhere. Freestyle went quite good for me. I managed to land a one handed spock and a double flaka and win ahead of Arrianne Aukes and up and coming freestyle ripper Maaike Huvermann. Standing on such a stage during the prizegiving felt amazing.
Watching the rest of the disciplines afterwards was soo much fun and exciting!
I felt incredibly happy and proud for all of the winners in all of the disciplines.
The next day we still had the Dunkerbeck speed challenge which Taty won quite convincingly on his last run beating nicolas Ackgazciyan. I was sailing on a freestyle sail and a freeride board and really felt like I wasn’t going anywhere haha. All in all The atmosphere among the sailors during the event was great and we were all rooting for each other. I really loved every minute of being part of this amazing event.

Luckily I also had some time to go and visit the town and it was beautiful! Totally not what I had expected. Wouldn’t mind coming back next year!
Next stop: Sylt for the 3rd women’s wave event!