FAQs

Is windsurfing for me?

Do you have a fondness for cold, wet neoprene and undressing in public car parks? Looking to find new and strange ways of allowing salt water into your body? A dab hand at making elaborate home-made fancy dress costumes? Willing to annoy housemates by leaving stinking wetsuit boots in the shower for days on end? If you're still reading, chances are the windsurfing club is for you! Run in conjunction with the SWA (Student Windsurfing Association), we offer a full itinerary to cater for everyone's windsurfing needs, whether you are a seasoned wave-head or a complete beginner!

What's the SWA?

The Student Windsurfing Association (SWA) is a non-profit making body run by students for students with the aim of uniting university windsurfing clubs nationwide. The SWA have succeeded in raising the profile of student windsurfing to such an extent that several major windsurfing brands now sponsor the SWA series, a BUSA endorsed league contested at events in Cardiff, Cambridge and Southampton.

In addition to these events are the Aussie Kiss festival in Bude, a freewave event in Rhosneigr and a week long end of exams chill-out/de-stress held by Nottingham university. At all these events there is racing in advanced, intermediate and beginner classes, freestyle competitions, free instruction for anybody who wants it and most importantly, a huge Saturday night fancy dress party!

What do the events involve?

First of all, anyone can go to an event - the sailing is split up into groups for beginners, intermediates and advanced sailors. Even non-sailors can rock up for some serious socialising, so bring your friends. It's all about having fun and doing as much as you feel you want to. Secondly, you don't need kit! The club's stash of equipment is steadly growing, and you can use the pool of kit supplied by other universities in addition to what we have. Of course we can also load up the minibus with whatever personal kit you want to take.

The events last a weekend, from Friday afternoon to Sunday night. A weekend usually pans out like so: on Friday meet the rest of the club armed with your sleeping bag and a change of clothes, pile into the transport and hit the road! Get to the event and enroll, go to the pub and then sleep. Wake up on Saturday, eat breakfast, nurse hangover, go to the beach, windsurf or chill out. Spend the day thus entertained before heading back to your tent/room/van to get dolled up in some outrageous fancy dress costume and proceed to the party. Get drunk, dance, fall over and stagger homeward. Wake up on Sunday, eat breakfast, nurse hangover, miss race briefing, and go race in your fancy dress costume from the night before! Then there's prizegiving, before packing up and reluctantly heading back to Oxford to spend the week recovering.

Over the weekend beginners will get RYA tuition, intermediates can hone their carve-gybes and advanced will be spurred on by their peers to go for a loop! You'll get to try out demo kit and watch some of the UK's top windsurfing talent strut their stuff. And for just £35 (plus club membership fees), there's really no excuse to miss out!

But what's a UJ?

So you've never even seen a windsurf board before, and you don't know your Willy-Skippers from your Grubbys. Well don't worry, we have a taster session planned for those of you not sure you want to part with your money just yet. Our qualified instructors will take you to Farmoor reservoir and get you set up on some beginner equipment.

Even if you don't take to windsurfing like a duck to water, you can still join the club as a social member, so you can take part in all the fun and debauchery that goes with being a student windsurfer. And of course we want as many of you as possible to come to the events and make the Oxford windsurfing club a force to be reckoned with, on and off the water!

How do I get to the reservoir?

It's easier than a one-handed clew-first double-forward off-the-lip! It takes about 15 minutes by bus, a little longer by bike or a bit less by car. Here's a map.

By bus:

The number 100 runs every 15 minutes from George Street (opposite the cinema). Get off at the roundabout in Farmoor village. Turn left at the roundabout, past the Post Office. The entrance to Oxford Sailing Clib is about a 5 minute walk, through the third set of big gates into the reservoir on the right.

By car or bike:

From central Oxford: Leave Oxford on the Botley Road. Ignore the turning for the ring road/A34, continue straight under the ring road into Botley. Take a right onto the B4044, signed to Eynsham. Continue until you enter Farmoor village, then take a left at the mini-roundabout. The entrance to the Sailing Club is through the third set of big gates on the right.

From the ring road: Get off the A34 at the Botley interchange (signposted A420/Swindon). Take the A420 westbound, towards Swindon. Take the first exit, then turn right at the bottom of the slip road. Follow the road into Farmoor village and follow the directions as above.

What do I do when I get there?

Once you're at Farmoor reservoir, you'll need to find our kit container, maybe to pick up your kit, or to get hold of some club equipment, and certainly to find one of the stylish day-glow membership vests that you must wear to sail. It's tucked away in the boat park - the rust-coloured shipping container furthest from the clubhouse. We share the container with the University Sailing Club, our bit is the partition at the back. You'll need a key to open the container door, and the code to our combination lock on the partition, which will be provided upon becoming a member of our club.

The other things you need to know are that you shouldn't sail on your own (rarely a problem), and you shouldn't leave your car at the top beside the rigging area (that's what the car park's for). Having sorted that out, you can enjoy the warmth and luxury of the clubhouse facilities - changing rooms, hot showers, bar at the weekends - before and after your sail. What a result!

So is it worth joining?

The only answer is yes! Windsurfing in Oxford can be as full-on or as chilled-out as you want it to be. We can’t stress enough that we have something to offer you whatever your level, be it socially, as a beginner or as a fully fledged windsurf god. There is plenty of opportunity to get on the club’s committee and help out in running the club, deciding what we do and when, where and how we do it! But the only thing to do is to come along to meet us and find out for yourself! See you there...

How do I get involved?

The best way to keep up with everything windsurfing related is to join the mailing list. It's easy to do, just fire off an email to windsurf-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk. Come along to one of the organsied socials and we'll tell you anything else you wish to know. If you can't wait that long, send an email to our president at windsurf@herald.ox.ac.uk and we'll get you going.

How much does it cost?