Student Windsurfing Association

SWA 2025/26 Season Highlights — What a Year!

With the exciting launch of our brand-new SWA website, it’s about time we filled it with some equally exciting content! So, for the first of what we hope will be many blog posts celebrating everything we get up to across the SWA, we’re kicking things off with a look back at an absolutely massive 2025/26 season.

From sold-out events and wild fancy dress to BWA wave competitions, new kit, £18,000 of crowdfunding and plenty of time on the water, it’s been a seriously busy year for student windsurfing. So, grab a coffee, sit back and let’s rewind…

Cardiff Carnage — We’re Back!

We kicked off the 2025/26 season with a bang, with Cardiff Carnage selling out!

This was the second year that Cardiff University hosted an SWA event at Llandegfedd Reservoir, and it was every bit as epic as we’d hoped. With 120+ windsurfers from 10 universities descending on South Wales, the competition was fierce both on and off the water.

And, of course, Saturday night needed a theme. This year? THE OLYMPICS!

With athletes, sports stars and questionable interpretations of Olympic events taking over the campsite, it was a weekend that set the bar seriously high for the season ahead.

£18,000 Raised — And A Whole Lot Of New Kit!

Over the summer, we also launched one of our biggest projects yet: an SWA crowdfunding campaign in partnership with Sport England.

And thanks to an incredible response from the community, we managed to raise a whopping £18,000!

That money has gone straight back into the sport, helping us buy:

8 brand-new boards
14 new sails
A whole load of equipment designed to bridge the gap between beginner and advanced kit

The goal was simple: get more students on the water, make progression easier and help more people fall in love with windsurfing.

With the help of Boardwise, we picked up eight Fanatic Blasts alongside a stack of Duotone E-Paces. Even better, the kit arrived just in time for Cardiff Carnage — meaning students were able to put it straight to work!

Students Taking On The BWA

While the SWA is all about student competition, many of our sailors are also taking things to the next level through the British Wavesailing Association (BWA).

Many students have come through the SWA pipeline and have been competing in BWA wave competitions for years — and there’s a new generation of students continuing that tradition.

A particular shoutout has to go to Caitlin Boothroyd from Southampton University and Ross Mauritzen, who both had some fantastic results in the amateur divisions.

Caitlin’s results were particularly impressive, earning her a move up into the Pro Division for 2026!

But the achievements of every student competing deserve recognition. The amateur divisions are a fantastic way to take your first steps into competitive wavesailing, with a supportive and increasingly inclusive environment for new competitors.

Before Christmas, students travelled to three brilliant BWA events:

Rhosneigr Wave Classic
Tiree Wave Classic
West Wittering Wave Classic

And if you’ve never been to one before, you’re seriously missing out.

Nottingham — Mind The Gap!

After Christmas, it was time to get back to the SWA’s core events — and Nottingham and Southampton both sold out once again!

Nottingham brought the theme of London Underground, resulting in some seriously creative costumes taking over the Saturday night festivities.

But once everyone made it back onto the water, it was business as usual — and Bristol came out on top in the racing!

Meanwhile, down in Cornwall, some of our wave sailors were swapping university competition for the Cornish Wave Classic.

The BWA once again delivered a brilliant event, and any trip to Cornwall wouldn’t be complete without a visit to St Ives Brewery for beers and pizza.

Southampton — New Kit, Big Wind!

Next up was Southampton — and we couldn’t have asked for better conditions.

Saturday delivered a properly windy day of racing, giving everyone the chance to put their skills to the test.

Even better, our brand-new sails had arrived just in time for the event!

They looked so good on the water that they were photographed and later featured in a Windsurf Magazine article — not a bad debut for the new SWA fleet!

Bristol BUCS — The Final Showdown

As always, we rounded off the core SWA events with Bristol BUCS.

This year brought a new location, with the event moving to Cheddar Reservoir for the first time. It proved to be a fantastic venue, with an incredibly welcoming team helping make the event one to remember.

And after a season of racing, it was Bristol who came out on top, closely followed by Southampton and Cardiff University.

Huge thanks also go to the sponsors who helped make our series prizes possible:

Boardwise
Voited
C-Monsta
SEARplugs
Circular & Co
K66

And a special thanks to alumni Jade Freeman of Steezy Seas for providing the trophies!

Full series results can be found on our Results page.

Giving Back — AGM & Committee Training

Once the racing was over, it wasn’t quite time to put the boards away.

We held our annual AGM and committee training, giving us a chance to look back at everything we’d achieved over the past year and welcome the new generation of university committees.

Our alumni and SWA volunteers shared their advice, experiences and tricks of the trade with incoming committee members, helping set them up for the season ahead.

Because the SWA isn’t just about what happens on the water — it’s about building a community that keeps growing year after year.

Surf & Skate Festival

We also took the SWA on the road this year, joining Windsurf Magazine at the Surf & Skate Festival.

With both an exhibitor stand and talks on stage, we spent the weekend chatting to watersports enthusiasts of all ages about how to get into windsurfing and winging.

It was another brilliant opportunity to spread the word about our sport and show people just how incredible the student windsurfing community can be.

So… What’s Coming Next?

If you thought 2025/26 was big, just wait until next season.

We’re hoping to bring AK back to the SWA calendar, with both AK and Cardiff taking place before Christmas.

Then, after Christmas, we’ll be heading to:

Nottingham
Southampton
Bristol BUCS

We’ll also continue supporting students who want to take on BWA wave competitions, including:

Rhosneigr — September
Tiree & West Wittering — October
Cornwall & South Wales — February/March

And we’re planning something a little special for our committees this year: exclusive in-person committee training, a black-tie dinner and a whole lot of SWA networking and knowledge sharing.

While we won’t be organising an official SWA holiday this year, we’ll be encouraging universities to organise their own trips, with support from the SWA where we can.

None Of This Happens Without You

And finally, a huge thank you to the people who make all of this possible.

The SWA relies on volunteers to keep the whole thing running — from teaching new windsurfers and helping at events to organising competitions and keeping university clubs connected.

Volunteering is one of the best ways to give back to the community that helped you get into the sport, and it’s also a pretty good excuse to spend more time on the water with your mates.

We’re always looking for people to get involved, and this year we particularly want to make sure our volunteers are rewarded for the time they give and get plenty of opportunities to enjoy the sport themselves.

Current SWA Roles

We currently have several fixed roles available:

SWA Media
SWA Treasurer No.2
SWA Tech No.2
SWA Events Team

If you’re interested, get involved! Whether you’re an experienced competitor, a complete beginner, a committee member, an alum, or just someone who loves being around windsurfing, there’s a place for you in the SWA.

Bring On 2026/27!

2025/26 was one hell of a year.

220 members. 14 different universities. 370 attendees across our events. £18,000 raised. 8 new boards. 14 new sails. Sold-out events. BWA competitions. BUCS. New committees. New volunteers. And countless hours spent on the water.

So dust off your wetsuit, grab your board, get your mates involved and get ready for another sick year of student windsurfing.

We’ll see you on the water.