LENA ERDIL WINS THE SLALOM AT THE PWA INDOOR IN WARSAW

It was ten years ago when the PWA had its last Indoor event in London, so it was really the first Indoor experience for many windsurfers, not professional by the time of the London Event. This was the case for Lena Erdil ended up winning the Slalom event and was fouth in the ramp.

1/ After 10 years without a windsurfing indoor event and in your first ever participation you won the slalom, what is your first feeling?

I’m super happy and still excited to have been part and won this event!! Going into the event I had no idea what to expect but I knew that it was going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity only to be able to take part. The feeling of racing in front of such large crowds was really amazing I had soo much fun as you really feel like you are making a show for the spectators… I never imagined that my first world title would be in an indoor event; I’m so stoked!!

2/ Indoor windsurfing is very specific, can you explain us the feeling of it?

Yeah windsurfing indoor is definitely very different to normal, you would expect that the wind is more consistent, but its actually exactly the opposite. Eventhough the fans are placed fairly close to each other there is still actually a gap in which there is no wind and also the wind strength right next to the fans is really different then slightly further away.

Also the starting ramp is obviously really different to anything we ever do in outdoor windsurfing, but its actually easier than I expected, its just important to sheet out a little when you hit the water and the place where you start getting the wind in your sail so that you don’t get pulled over quickly..

The water surface is pretty flat and not very that different to a normal flat water spot. The races are extremely short so you really need to focus on your jibes and try to not make them narrow, as otherwise you get too far away from the fans and will have to go upwind in less wind… Its also super exciting to watch as the races are so short and a small mistake can make you go from first to last or the opposite!

3/ Which gear did you use?

My sail was a 5.0 Purelip, I think it was the perfect choice for me as the sails are really easy to handle and have a great wind range, so perfect for the indoor conditions!

My board was a 102l Freetsyle Wave with a 36cm slalom fin, again the board was really easy to handle in the start and good to get of the ramp quickly and make a good start. The slalom fin gave me speed and acceleration out of the jibes where i needed it. Overall I think I had really good equipment for the challenging conditions.

4/ You also took part in the  Jump session, how was it like?

The Jump was the most exciting thing I have done in a long time, I kind of signed up for it just so I could live the experience of jumping of that ramp, but when the time was actually there i was not so convinced anymore! The ramp is quite dangerous as there is only a small channel in which you need to get your fin into and you need to go into the ramp with a lot of commitment, speed and stability, not easy with the inconsistent wind coming from the fans. After Sarah Quita had a bad crash on her first go and decided not to do it anymore I was automatically in the main event. We only had 6 trial jumps before the finals in the main event and in the end i was feeling slightly more comfortable going for it, but I think i could have done better with a couple more ramps. Everytime i hit the ramp i kind of expected to crash so when i didn’t and was send up in the air my reaction speed of going for a radical move was not fast enough to pull it off.. I really hope that we will have more indoor events in the future and i’m definitely keen to do the jump discipline again and this time really go for it! In general every jump was such a big rush of adrenalin its hard to describe, I think for me the feeling was close to the one i get when i go into bigger waves.. The discipline is all about pulling the most radical airtime with the cleanest possible landing! It was amazing to see how quickly the guys improved and of course also amanda beenen and Justyna Sniyadi who actually managed to go for a front loop in the show!

All in all and amazing event! Can’t wait for the next Indoor Worldcup!