Hosted at Nottingham's own private seaside resort (otherwise known as Rutland Reservoir), extravagant freestyle competitions and adrenaline-fuelled races took over the lazy landscape. Spocks were executed on the latest editions of board design excellence (courtesy of Boardwise) and became commonplace on Rutland Water, performing for adoring fans on the muddy bank. For beginners from all the clubs, Nottingham University's beautiful instructors were always on duty, handy with top tips and ready at any time to rescue damsels in distress stranded on their boards. Upholding tradition as being the most eagerly anticipated party on the Windsurfing calendar, the Saturday night carnage was impressive, even for Nottingham's standards Themed to the colours of a Rubix cube, the night staggered away into the early hours of the morning and was marked by endless amounts of clothes swapping (an excellent way to break the ice and share some memorable moments). Sunday was the day of competition, and with Pondlife being a core event in the SWA's freestyle and race series, there was plenty of up for grabs.

A gusty 20 knot wind meant in the freestyle completion was sailed with 10 minute heats. This gave everyone a chance to show their worth. The standard was exceptionally high, with spin loops being the norm. The highlight of the heats came from Dave Williams (Cambridge), who after snapping half his boom off, landed a planning clew-first Spock whilst sailing back to shore! Other crowd favourites included Adam Simm's (Portsmouth) shuv-its, an air flaka from Dave Williams and John Palmer's (Bristol) Punetas. In the end Seb Willis's consistency paid off taking the win, landing a variety of sliding manoeuvres, ahead of Adam Simms in second and Dave Williams in third. Although there may have been fewer numbers in the girls freestyle completion the standard was also high. Vulcans and switch Vulcans, along with upwind 360's meant that the judges' decision was tight! In the end Maeli Cherel (Soton) took the win, with Sarah Bibby a close second.

The racing saw a large field of speed merchants hoping make the most of the breezy weather to power to victory. Girls racing ran first, and after several heats it saw Gemma Lewis from Cardiff taking the win in a close final, followed by Jo from Cambridge and Sarah Bibby from Southampton. The boys final saw Seb Willis take a clear first, followed by a pitched battle for second place with John Palmer from Bristol only snatching second from third place winner Alex Arnold from UWE by running barefoot across rocks to finish a half second ahead. Dedication indeed. A massive thanks to Andy Burke and Nottingham Committee for running the event, along with the hardy members of the SWA who made the journey.

Also a big thanks to Mark from Boardwise and Rich from Dave Nobles for the demo kit and prices, Rutland Water Sports for hosting us and to all those who turned up for making it an great weekend.