JC: How did you enjoy going to Maui for the Aloha Classic?
DAIDA: This year my head was not in Maui. First of all, there was only three weeks’ notice when the PWA confirmed the event after Sylt. I started my 4th and last year at University (Physiotherapy degree) and I had to leave everything to go there. Hawaii was not even in my economic plans but I was forced to go there after four years without training on starboard tack conditions. In addition, this year (from January until May 2014) I was off the water for 5 months due to a nasty foot injury. After my result I got really sick with flu from all the emotions and everything but now that I am home I look back and I see how lucky I was finishing 2nd overall with such a bad result in Maui.
IBALLA: It was tough. A last minute notice of race meant I had to miss some SUP contests, but the effort was worth it! I did enjoy my time in Maui a lot, sailing and of course winning! It was a dream come true to win there again without even having the chance to practice Starboard tack conditions much the whole year. For next season I hope we have a clear calendar from the word go, so we can train hard for all the events.
JC: Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?
DAIDA: I will finish my physiotherapy degree in just a few months, so I see myself working to help people have better and healthy lives and readapt them to their daily activities if possible.
IBALLA: Sailing, SUP’ing, Surfing and living in Fuerteventura!
JC: How does it feel to be on the other side of the fence as event organizers of Pozo after competing all those years?
DAIDA: People cannot imagine how hard it is to study, train, organize events and compete. Sometimes I think “What am I doing?”, after all I went through fighting with cancer, it is almost too much stress for my body! It is really hard to balance everything, but we have a great team so during the dates of the event we can focus only on competing. Hardest part of being an organizer is always nine months prior to the event, when we start working to do more things with even smaller budgets!
IBALLA: I definitely see things from a different perspective. But it is clear for me to say that if you really want an event to happen, you can do it. It’s a lot of work behind the scenes! But I think we gave an extra push to the event in GC and we now have a good reputation world wide.