Starting as a project of the Point7 Black Team to give them an advantage over other racers by training long term on a full blown slalom course and under racing conditions, the Tenerife slalom training has changed in the last couple of years, answering to what can only be seen as a demand in the market. Now organised by TWS under the name of ‘Tenerife Windsurf Solution Slalom Stages’, pretty much any keen hobby racer is welcome to join the pro’s for slalom training from January to April whenever conditions permit – usually around 4 times a week. A lot of male and female professional sailors have chosen Tenerife as one of their winter training grounds for varying amounts of time this season due to its growing reputation as a slalom ‘hotspot’. Being able to test equipment under racing conditions and against your actual opponents but in a training environment where there isn’t any real pressure to perform offers some undeniable advantages to the pro’s who are training here! At the same time, being able to share the starting line with some of the best in the world on a daily basis offers a thrill to keen hobby racers who get the chance to test their speed and racing capabilities against the PWA elite. A unique opportunity probably unrivalled in any other sport! A normal training day starts with a skipper’s meeting at 10 o’clock. Groups of participants are made up depending on the attendance of racers that day, the racecourse is decided upon and the starting times confirmed. Usually the starting time is exactly 1 hour after the skippers, so normally it is 11am. This gives the racers just enough time to prepare 1 or 2 sails and boards and get to the starting line in time for the first heat. One of the rules of the training is that if you miss the first start, then just like in any real race, you are out for the whole of the first round and miss your opportunity to qualify for group 1. A regular training day consists of a maximum of 20 races divided into rounds of 4 x 5 races. After 5 races there is a half an hour break and after 10 races there is a 1.5 hour lunch break before we get to do the same all over again in the afternoon, that is of course only if you are strong enough!
“ The training here is definitely a great way to push your slalom sailing to the next level but it’s also tough and definitely not for the faint hearted ”