TRANSITIONING
Windsurf|Issue 437 - September 2024
Big wave guru, Thomas Traversa discusses a potential midlife crisis, winning the PWA Wave World Championship and Red Bull Storm Chase in the same year, and the implications of sailing Nazaré.
Thomas Traversa
TRANSITIONING

COMPETITIVE OUTLOOK

I have reached a bit of a crossroads in my career. I feel like I am coming towards the end of my competitive side. I turned thirty-eight in December of last year… so while I am still competitive, I see that finally there is a new generation of sailors coming through and they are pushing the level, with regard to both jumping and tricks. I still feel like I want to compete because events always provide motivation to keep improving and pushing yourself, but at the same time, I feel like this is the end of my competitive career and I don’t really know what to do next. I feel like I am in a transition period, which could go either way.

On the one side, I am thinking about being able to focus on nice trips with big waves, but then on the other, it’s really hard to let go of the competitive side of the sport as it is fun to be at events also. We all meet up and it always provides you with the motivation to keep training, while trying to improve. However, I’m wary that I don’t want to compete for too long as the idea of just passing one heat at each contest doesn’t sound particularly fun or appealing.

MIDLIFE CRISIS

I never put in the time for real training at certain events like Pozo, and I am not going to start doing that now as I also have a family with three kids to consider these days. I am in a happy place in my life, but at the same time, there is also this midlife crisis circulating in my mind about what to do moving forwards. You cannot just keep going like you have been for the last twenty years. When you get older, you have to find a bit of a different way. It is quite mentally challenging for me right now to decide what to do next. I don’t want to be away too much, because with three kids, it will be a lot of work for my wife every time I am not there. I also want to spend time with my children, but at the same time, I also want to windsurf.

Esta historia es de la edición Issue 437 - September 2024 de Windsurf.

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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 437 - September 2024 de Windsurf.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

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