EUROPEAN PRO WINDSURFING TOUR: EBELTOFT, DENMARKEUROPEAN PRO WINDSURFING TOUR: EBELTOFT, DENMARKJohn Carter caught up with Finn Noer, the mastermind behind the European Pro Windsurfing Tour to find out the concept behind this tour, his aspirations and plans for the future.Words: Finn Noer // Photos: John CarterTHE CONCEPT The European Pro Windsurfing Tour is all about making competitions around Europe for riders that are talented and want to see a future within windsurfing. Mostly it is for the young guys coming into the racing scene, who may not have the money to travel to places like Japan or New Caledonia. On this tour they can look forward to a bright future where they can drive in their van, bring their friends and travel together with the minimum of costs. That side of it is very important for me. That reminds me of the time when I was young. I just wanted to compete, but of course couldnt afford to travel everywhere or anywhere. When I could afford to go, I just loved that. I can see the fire in the eyes of these new kids on the scene. A lot of these young guys are training really hard, but in reality, what are they actually training for?THE IDEA Two or three years ago I came up with the idea that we needed a European Tour. Something affordable and accessible to the majority of the riders. In reality, unfortunately, there isnt that much money in the sport and its expensive! Windsurfing isnt for everyone, Formula One isnt for everyone and all the expensive sports are just not for everyone, but we can try and make it less expensive travel wise by having a tour in European spots like here in Denmark, Germany or Lake Garda. It will be a tour with four day events to also help keep the cost down. As you can see here in Denmark, it is also very important that we can entertain the people on the beach. Otherwise, it is just a closed party for the windsurfers. We want to entertain the people on the beach with a huge live screen and with Ben Proffitt as the commentator. It is really important for us to engage with the audience and make the sponsors happy. I dont want that at the cost of the windsurfing quality.RULES Another aspect that is very important is to come up with rules that give a possibility for lighter riders to be able to compete with the heavier guys as normally in racing the lighter sailors have no chance. To combat this we are allowing them to use a weight vest. I was very light when I was racing and at that time it was allowed to use a weight vest also, which was a game changer for me. I have been watching talented riders like Sebastian Kornum, who is not that tall, but very strong, but just doesnt have what it takes to compete with the taller heavier guys. I felt so sorry for those guys. These weight jackets are available for everyone. Another very important thing we are working on is that we have no custom gear, but otherwise riders are not restricted. We can race in the lightest winds possible so all the crowds on the beach can always watch some racing. The foil has given us this opportunity to go racing when it almost seems impossible. Also, in the high winds aspect the foil can manage some pretty heavy conditions. With those rules we get happy sailors, happy organisers and happy sponsors.THE BIG PICTURE It isnt ending there! I actually want to take the tour a step further. I have been producing a few productions for Eurosport and Sky Sports, so I know it is possible to bring sports to these bigger platforms for media. I believe with foil windsurfing that that is possible. We have the stories there and we have talented people working here. When they see the action and feel the thrill that windsurfing is giving a lot of people I think it will go down well. A lot of people here in Ebeltoft had never seen this type of racing before and thought it was so crazy and cool! They were just blown away by this exciting format of racing. I have always had that feeling that we can bring this sport to life when we have the right stories told by the right people on the right platforms. I hope we can help make this sport grow and make it more attractive for young people. I want other non-windsurfers to say, Wow this looks like a cool watersport, lets try windsurfing!. That is the main goal.When we gain access to these bigger audiences, hopefully it will bring more money in the sport, so these athletes can make a living out of it. There were some riders who would have loved to come here, but they have to work as they cant make a living out of the sport, even some of the guys at the top of the rankings.OTHER TOURS We are not trying to be rivals with the PWA or any other tours. We have no intentions to be rivals to any other tours. We have a good relationship with the IFCA Tour, and I respect all these big tours. We will never put on an event which clashes with these tours where possible. We are windsurfing lovers. We would never put two windsurf events on at the same time. We are only working with the adult scene and within foil racing. We want to have a strong fleet and to be as professional of a fleet as possible. I am setting our bar high! If we dont shoot for the stars, we wont reach the moon! We really want to put a lot of effort into this.SHOOT FOR THE STARS The tour will hopefully be affordable, fun and provide a nice adventure for riders going to events in their vans to compete. I hope we will give riders an opportunity to do something affordable which may help them gain sponsors and have the chance to compete. The name European Pro Windsurfing Tour should be self-explanatory. I hope we can make this scene bigger for the young riders! I am watching everything on the foil and slalom scene. I stay up all night to watch the Japan PWA foil races! I just love this style of racing and am very passionate to help the young riders have a chance to compete and get more involved.The post EUROPEAN PRO WINDSURFING TOUR: EBELTOFT, DENMARK appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.