Q and A from Podersdorf Day 5

Tuesday. Another no wind yet day in Austria at the PWA's first event of the season...From the Live Ticker this interview/question session from the freestyle competitors. Go to the bottom of the page to start.

15:53 He started windsurfing in 2003, when he was 12 years old.

15:52 He says he's never actually counted. But, he sails every single day that's windy. When he was training in Bonaire, that meant every day, but more recently in Holland, it was 3 times in the last month!

15:47 Next up, Rizek from the Czech Republic wants to know how many days per year these guys spend on the water. And from what age they started windsurfing. I'll just ask the closest person next to me for this one, which happens to be Davy Scheffers.

15:33 Rossi also reckons that visualisation helps him to learn new moves. It's wont do you any harm giving these things a go, so try it out next time you want to learn something.

15:32 But most importantly he says that doing exercises on land and in light winds are extremely important. That way you have some form of muscle memory, so you'll know how certain moves feel before you do them.

15:28 As for how to learn a new move, he thinks your first step should be to get hold of a copy of the Tricktionary!

15:23 He seems to think that some moves you can do almost instantly because they make sense in your head, whereas others are completely alien. But what works for one person can be completely different for someone else.

15:20 He said it's difficult to put a number on how long it takes them to learn a new move. For example, it took him 2 months to learn to vulcan, but 6 months to flaka.

15:15 Right, I've tracked Rossi down.

15:12 Chris Cross has sent in a couple of questions. He'd like to know how long it takes these guys to learn a new move, and how they go about it. For this one, I think i'll track down the tricktionary legend, Michael Rossmeier!

15:08 The wind still hasn't appeared. But, we've received some more questions so stay tuned for them.

14:20 He also says that plenty of moves come from light wind variations. So the guys will go out when it's really light just to see what sail spins are possible. I hope that answers your question Fred.

14:15 As for how the guys come up with the new moves, Tonky admits that it's getting harder and harder, but still says there are plenty of possibilities to dream up. He says that some of the best moves have come from watching people fall off. Often he'll watch his brother Taty, or Kiri in Bonaire, and when they fail to land a move it allows him to see what else could be possible.

14:07 Tonky reckons that we could possibly see some new moves in Fuerteventura. He said that they're more likely to be combination moves rather than anything brand new. Last year he unveiled the Bongka which was a forward loop into a flaka. He says that this year he thinks he'll try to do a forward ponch combination.

13:55 Fred Willis from Ireland wants to know what the next big move is going to be. And how the guys go about thinking them up. I've just spotted the style master from Bonaire, Tonky Frans, so i'll see if he can answer this for Fred.

13:05 There has been no change in the conditions here this morning. Sailors will remain on standby throughout the afternoon.

12:55 Keep your questions coming in.

12:44 This is what Bubble had to say: "Well, i already had the classic short back and sides so that left me with 2 options, shaved head or long hair. I didn't really fancy the shaved look because my head would get too cold and i'd look like a bit of an idiot. My hair is too thin for growing it long and you also have to go through the stage of looking like a girl, ie the Max Rowe look. Someone mentioned a mohican and Scott Fenton didn't have his anymore so i thought i'd give a try. Now i'm glad i did it beacuse it has helped me geain some recognition in the windsurfing world."

12:38 Our second question of the day comes from Paul Hunt in New Zealand. He wants to know why JP/Pryde rider Andy 'Bubble' Chambers chose to have a Mohawk hair cut! Hopefully Bubble wont take this in a bad way...

12:10 The lake resembles a mill pond at the moment. SUPing is the order of the day. Sailors remain on hold.

12:03 Andre told me the following, he uses the Duke range from 5.4 upwards and from 5.0 below he uses the Ice. He reckons if you try to use just one mast, you won't be getting the best range from your sails. He uses a 430 with the 5.4 Duke and then a 400 on his Ices. Gollito also agreed with him. So if you want the same performance as two of the PWA's finest, that's what you should go for. I hope this answers your question.

Send any other Q's to paul@no-spam-pleasepwaworldtour.com

11:55 Our First question of the day is from Swierakk in Poland. He wants to know which sails he should buy for freestyle from the North Sails range. And, whether or not he could use just one mast

PWA Live Ticker http://www.pwaworldtour.com/index.php?id=919&tx_pwaliveticker_pi1[showUid]=67&cHash=9dfffe514c