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GIRLS ON TOUR WITH PAULINE KATZ

The day after the Pozo World Cup, while most competitors are winding down, Pauline Katz is just getting started. The Swiss wave sailor and founder of Girls on Tour has made it her mission to introduce more women to wave sailing, connecting aspiring sailors with the world’s best female professionals. Now in its fifth year, the initiative has already helped several young sailors make the leap onto the PWA World Tour…and it’s continuing to grow. Windsurf caught up with Katz during this year’s Pozo camp to find out how Girls on Tour is helping shape the future of women’s windsurfing.

Photos: Inna Bru and John Carter

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WINDSURF: Tell us what’s happening here today.

PAULINE KATZ: This is Girls on Tour. We’re here the day after the Pozo World Cup for our annual Sail with the Pros session. This is now the fifth edition of the camp. The whole idea is to bring more women onto the water and help raise the level together.

We invite all the women around Pozo to sail alongside the professional riders. Before we go out we give some coaching on jumping and wave riding, then everyone heads onto the water together. Last year we had around 50 participants, which was amazing.

WINDSURF: Was Girls on Tour your idea?

PAULINE KATZ: Yes, it started as my idea, but from the very beginning I had incredible support from all the professional women. They’ve been involved since the first year and today we have more than 15 coaches. Almost every woman who competed in the World Cup is here helping with the camp. We’ll have around 20 to 25 participants this year, and it’s fantastic to see everyone working together.

WINDSURF: Have you seen the project making a real difference?

PAULINE KATZ: Definitely. Every year we’ve introduced one or two new girls to sailing at Pozo. Many of them come from flat-water backgrounds, so the conditions here can be intimidating. We pair each newcomer with a coach who helps them get in and out of the water and build confidence. One great example is Alina. The first time she came to Pozo was through Girls on Tour. She met all the professional sailors, trained alongside them, and now, just three years later, she’s competing on the World Tour herself. That’s exactly what we hoped would happen.

WINDSURF: Does meeting the pros make competing seem more achievable?

PAULINE KATZ: Absolutely. The girls realise the professionals are approachable. They can ask questions, sail together and learn directly from them. It makes competing feel accessible rather than something that’s out of reach. That’s really important because a few years later many of them are sailing alongside the same women who coached them.

WINDSURF: You’re now expanding beyond Pozo?

PAULINE KATZ: Yes…This year we’re also launching Girls on Tour in Fuerteventura. The organisers there have often struggled to reach the minimum number of women needed for competition, so we’re working alongside the World Cup events to help grow participation.

The hope is that in a few years we won’t have that problem anymore because there will simply be more women competing.

WINDSURF: You originally came here from Switzerland. How did that happen?

PAULINE KATZ: I’m Swiss and I moved here six years ago. Originally I came with my partner and I never planned to stay or compete. But I started sailing every day, learned my front loops and really improved. It completely changed my life. Now Pozo feels like home, although I still travel a lot.

WINDSURF: What makes Pozo such a special place?

PAULINE KATZ: It’s the village atmosphere and the people. The local community is incredibly welcoming. And of course, you can sail almost every day. If you want to improve your wave sailing, it’s the perfect training ground. For me it was ideal because I could go to the gym in the morning and sail every afternoon. The consistency means you improve so quickly.

WINDSURF: What do you do when you’re not organising Girls on Tour?

PAULINE KATZ: My background is actually in engineering. I worked as a transport mobility planner in Switzerland. When I moved here I couldn’t continue that job remotely, so I repaired sails for a while, taught maths online and later became a journalist, writing for Swiss sailing magazines.

This year Girls on Tour has grown to around eight events, so I’ve stopped the journalism and now I’m concentrating on coaching and developing the project full-time.

WINDSURF: So Girls on Tour is becoming much bigger?

PAULINE KATZ: The vision isn’t for it to be only my project. I’ve built the structure, but now professional sailors can come to me and say, “I’d like to organise a camp at my home spot.” Then we work together to make it happen. That’s how we want the project to keep growing.

WINDSURF: What keeps you passionate about windsurfing?

PAULINE KATZ: Being outdoors is a big part of it. But it’s also a sport where you’re never finished learning. Every session is different because the conditions change all the time. Right now I’m working on my taka, and once you learn one move, you immediately want to learn the next one. You never get bored.

WINDSURF: Do the professional sailors learn from each other as well?

PAULINE KATZ: Of course. I’ve learned so much from sailors like Sarah-Quita Offringa and Daida Moreno over the years. That’s one of the nicest things about this community. Even the world’s best riders are constantly sharing ideas and helping each other improve.

WINDSURF: What would make this year’s camp a success for you?

PAULINE KATZ: If just one more participant decides to compete on the World Tour next year, I’ll be happy. That’s always my goal…to bring new girls to Pozo, help them believe they belong here and then see them return as competitors. When they spend time with us they realise we’re approachable, we’re friendly, and that makes a huge difference.

Hopefully it’s the first step towards the next generation of women’s wave sailors.

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Find out more here: 

Girls on Tour — We ride. Stronger together.

UPCOMING FREESTYLE GIRLS ON TOUR FUERTEVENTURA

Sail with the pros: Special freestyle

Register here: 

Girls on Tour / Fuerteventura – Sotavento / 22 July 2026 / Sail with the Pros – Special Freestyle

Fuerteventura, Sotavento

Ready to sail with the most stylish freestyle sailors? Join an exclusive freestyle session with pro female windsurfers from the World Cup.

This is all about freestyle energy, creative riding, and trying new moves with some of the best female freestylers in the world. Set in the legendary conditions of Sotavento, at the René Egli Center, it’s made for independent riders (offshore wind conditions!) who want to push, play, and progress with the pros right next to them.

Expect a fun, creative and high-energy session, plenty of time on the water, and that feeling of just going for it with a crew of like-minded women.