Imperial finish strongly in the student Windsurf championships

Joel Russell completing the final qualifying leg in the Team Racing, Imperial finishing 1st

The BUCS Windsurfing Championship 2014.

The BUCS Windsurfing championship is the final event of the SWA (Student Windsurfing Association) series and marks the end of yet another fantastic year for Imperial College Windsurfing. In 2014 the competitions moved to the Weymouth sailing academy, hosts of the 2012 Olympic games, where flat sheltered water and light westerly breezes provided a tactical platform for Universities to do battle in a 4 race series. Imperial were the only London representatives at the competition, maintaining our strong Windsurfing profile with entrants in the Team, Advanced, Intermediate and Freestyle categories.

Thanks to incredible support from the Harlington Trust and Sport Imperial, The Imperial team were able to enter the most competitive team in years, with the addition of a brand new race board and sails. This advantage provided crucial as Sam Cooper secured a strong 5th place finish in the advanced racing ahead of many entrants from coastal clubs including Southampton and Cardiff. Another benefiting from our new equipment was James Metcalfe who finished 4th in his first ever race series in the intermediate fleet. Imperial performed strongly in the team racing with a stunning second leg from Jacek Golebiowski helping us qualify 1st in the heats. A dense leading pack and a drop in wind jeopardised the chance of a podium in the final but Imperial held out to claim a respectable 6th place. Following the success at this years’s championship Imperial Windsurf look to aim even higher, close links with Sport Imperial and a strong development plan hopes to make Windsurfing at Imperial a force for the future.