SAT NAV: “IN FIVE MINUTES TURN LEFT THEN TURN RIGHT!”
SQ: Oh no JC I think you just got flashed by the speeding camera, you can’t go over 100 km/h on this freeway!
JC: This stupid van doesn’t even do 100 km/h! Oh well! How easy is it for a multiple world champion to find sponsors, I might need to borrow some dollars to pay the fine?
SQ: I am lucky because I started competing ten years ago when there were still some good contracts around. Since around 2011 the deals have gone down the drain for many of the girls. I already had my contracts so they have kept on going especially while I am still winning titles. If I came into the sport right now I think I would really struggle. Even though I have all these titles, there is a big difference financially between the men and me. I don’t feel like I am struggling compared to the other girls, but I do feel not as important as the men.
JC: Would you like to compete against the men?
SQ: I would love to compete against the men. Not to ‘kick their ass’, just to push myself. I happen to be the best in the women’s fleet right now in freestyle and I just want to compete against someone who is better than me! Right now in my heats I play it safe just to win the competition. There is no need for me to try all the moves I can do. I really don’t mind losing; if another girl is better than me that is fine. That would be no problem. I will try my best the next time not to lose! It would be better for the public to see a bit more rivalry going on.
JC: What was the highlight of your career so far?
SQ: Maybe it will be when we reach the airport in this van in one piece! Winning my first slalom title in 2011 was wicked. That year I spent one year in Holland studying. When I went to compete I had not windsurfed as much as usual. I won my first event in Vietnam in slalom and then I went on to win the event in Aruba on my home turf! In Aruba I won the freestyle and the slalom and also the slalom title. That was cool. I remember that as something special. In 2015 I finished third in waves, that was my first time on the wave podium!
JC: You have had plenty of highs, can you think of any lows apart from having to drive 200km sat next to me in this van?
SQ: I had one time on tour in the beginning in 2007 when I lost to Daida I felt really bummed. I lost out on the title in the last competition. It was not the worst experience ever but when I went home I realized that I did not fight for it enough. That is when I decided to be more fired up when I compete. I had won in Lanzarote, then in Pozo Daida won the first single and double and after that we called off the competition because it was too windy. I remember Junko Nagoshi was the only one saying that we should carry on competing! So Daida won that one and then won in Fuerteventura as well.
JC: Oh no, did I just go through a red light? How much is that going to be? How do you cope with being away from home so much?
SQ: I manage with being away from home better these days. During the last three years I have been competing in all three disciplines so have barely been home during competition season. I travel at least eight months out of the year. Home is where my harness is! This year I did not go home for eleven months! Travelling with all this gear is the worst part about my job! I travel with gear for all three disciplines so nobody has it worse than me. It is complicated organizing it all to be at events and ready for the next ones. It can be an absolute disaster especially living in Aruba. Most of my gear is in Europe most of the time. I have to stash certain parts of my gear at friends’ houses in Holland.
SAT NAV: “IN ONE MINUTE YOU WILL BE AT YOUR DESTINATION.”
SQ: Thank goodness this journey is nearly over. JC you are the best photographer but the worst driver!