The idea of organising a training session with the youngsters from the Flensburg Surf Club came up at Easter during the DWSV training on Lake Garda. I was immediately enthusiastic about the idea, as there are so many motivated children and young people there. Besides, I've only ever made it to Glücksburg and had never visited the spot on the peninsula in Holnis. When I arrived there at the beginning of September, I was immediately impressed by the spot, the infrastructure and the warm welcome from the SC Flensburg team and the Holnis water sports centre. The wind was blowing at 12-18 knots and a few girls and boys were already out on the water for their first session.
We officially started on Saturday morning with seventeen girls and boys aged between eight and seventeen. After a warm-up and familiarisation session, it was straight onto the water, divided into different ability groups on the Techno 293 and a foil regatta group.
Regatta preparation with starts, jibes and tactics
The aim of the weekend was to prepare ideally for the two upcoming techno regattas, the German Championship in Born and the Nordic Championships at the home spot in Holnis. We started with gybe training, practised the start timing and the regatta mode with slalom races. The wind was blowing at 8-12 knots and demanded a good pumping technique from the participants, especially in the second session in the afternoon.
I was impressed by how motivated every single participant was, how the whole team, from young to old, supported each other and learnt from each other. And I am particularly grateful for the support of the entire SC Flensburg team around Hannes, Daniel, Kilian and Sven."
The second day, with fantastic summer weather, started with a briefing and slightly stronger winds. We went straight into race mode, with the start procedure and upwind and downwind races on the programme. At the end there was a video analysis. "This allowed us to analyse our technique on the water. It gave us a completely different perspective on our own riding and the mistakes we made," said a delighted participant Greta.
It really was great fun for everyone!" (Greta)
