Over 120 students rocked up on the Friday to kick off the fun in one of Cardiff renowned local drinking establishments to grab purple t-shirts and sink a few drinks before heading into town to rip up the dance floor. That is, with the notable exception of some UEA guys who turned up much later (and a few hundred pounds poorer) after a small mix up at the petrol station en route...

Saturday dawned bright and sunny with a gentle breeze tempting us out of bed and down to Llangdegfedd reservoir, bacon sarnies in hand. With Saturday looking like the only chance of wind for the weekend the decision was made to get everyone on the water ASAP with tuition for beginners, as well as racing and freestyle for the intermediate and advanced windsurfers.

In the intermediate fleet it was Bristol that dominated the men’s racing with Steve Williams, Alex Daish and Geoff Hughes taking the top 3 places. Meanwhile Exeter’s Amy Taylor put in a great performance to win the intermediate ladies racing ahead of Lara Hanes (Nottingham) and Amy Chesterfield (Cardiff).

The advanced racing was hotly contested but it was Cardiff president Seb Willis (Windwise) that took top honours with Alex Wullschleger Arnold from UWE in second and Southampton’s Al Bentley in third. Cardiff's Gemma Lewis came out on top in the ladies advanced racing with Southampton's Sarah Bibby (puravidaboardriders.co.uk) placed comfortably in second and Cardiff's Beth Sangwine sailing into 3rd place.

With the day drawing to a close and the wind still teasing us there was just enough time to squeeze in a freestyle competition. In the mens fleet James Goody (Cardiff) pulled off an amazing repetoire of sail spinning awesomeness to take the win ahead of Stef Hilder from Southampton (Rat rigs, Zero Gravity Distributions, Goya) and Cardiff's Seb Willis (Windwise) in a very close heat. First place for the ladies freestyle went to Cardiff’s Gemma Lewis whose acrobatic dismounts (with a little help from team-mate Beth Sangwine) sealed victory ahead of Southampton girls Maeli Cherel and Sarah Bibby (puravidaboardriders.co.uk).

Then it was back to Cardiff to begin the evening festivities and come up with some creative outfits for the theme “anything but clothes” – highlights ranging from duck tape, boardbags and house hold objects to gimp suits, kippers, and sheep costumes! Needless to say much fun was had by all.

Sunday morning was a typically laid back affair with no wind but dazzling sunshine. The prize giving was held early before everyone disspersed to paddleboard, attempt wake boarding (without a boat!) or head to the pub.

Big thanks go to the Cardiff committee for organising such an awesome event, as well as Boardwise, Pura Vida, Severne and all the SWA sponsers (Club Vass, Boardwise, Naish, RRD/Ezzy, Starboard/Tushingham, Boohai, Turfdog and Severne), and not forgetting the guys from Gwent Adventure at Llandegfedd reservoir for hosting the event and putting on an wicked BBQ! Also thanks to Grass Hopper Porridge for supporting the event.

The final event of the SWA calendar is the BUCS National Championship which will be hosted by Southampton University at Calshot in April.