Tracht beach in Kinvara, Co Galway again played host to the final series on the Irish Slalom Tour 2011. 2011 has been a fantastic year for breeding new slalom racers as new faces showed up and shook up the mix. Overall conditions were mixed over the 6 Series Events but when it was good it was real good! From Cork to Kerry up to Newtownards and Donegal; back by Dublin; there was nowhere better to finish than in the fishing village of Kinvara. The community of Kinvara invited us in 2010 for the first year and we promised we would be back. The October Bank Holiday weekend was lining up to be a good one, and it delivered. Saturday was forecasting 18-20 knots with gusts up to 25 knots and Sunday similar with slightly less gust. A few sailors arrived on Friday evening to give the course a run through and give a few local spectators a taste of the action to come.

Fun Slalom in Mullingar

Lough Ennell was host to the first fun slalom weekend of 2011. Flights had been rearranged, plans changed and family occasions cancelled on the basis of a good long range forecast that ended up providing two quality days of racing and great fun; on and off the water. Barry Whitelaw (aka the Bat), ISS competitor and all round windsurfing 'super' enthusiast organised the event to the minuets detail. It has been 20 years since racing was held in Lough Ennell but with its scenic backdrop to Belvedere House, great facilities and flat water blasting, it won't be long till we are back.

Newtownards Sailing Club hosted Round Three of the Irish Slalom Series 2011. An unbelievable setting only matched by the welcome from locals and club members will make this one of the most memorable events of the year….oh and the windsurfing was fantastic!

Anyone who turned up for Round 2 of the Irish Slalom Series in Castlegregory last weekend (21st / 22nd May) witnessed one of the best weekends in the short history of the Slalom Series. Hosted by Jamie Knox Watersports, back-to-back races were held across two days with nearly fifty competitors across a Gold and Silver Fleet. War time images are invoked to describe the amount of bodies on the beach by Sunday evening. If you weren't in Kerry last weekend…you missed out!

Windsurfers from all across Ireland, Scotland and the UK met in Bantry Bay, Co. Cork for event one of the 2011 Irish Windsurfing Slalom Series. A tremendous turnout on a poor forecast reflects the level of interest in racing among Irish Windsurfers. One of the surprises of the weekend was the number of new faces across all levels...there is no doubt that 2011 is going to be our most successful year yet!