ITA - 2111

Francesca Floris, ITA-2111, is an insiprational Italian windsurfer who doesn’t let age get in the way of ability. In her late fifties she competed earlier this year in the PWA freestyle event in Bonaire, winning heats and finishing a very respectable 6th place overall. She gives us an insight into her life and how she started freestyling at 47!

- Francesca Floris

I was born in Olbia, a coastal city in northeast Sardinia on the 21st of November 1961. I still live in Sardinia, where I am a physical education and sports teacher. I have been active in sports most of my life. As a child I was very restless and by the age of 5 my parents had me involved in lots of sporting activities. Around the age of eight I discovered fencing, which became my main sport until I was 30! After many years I took up other sports and passions and among these was windsurfing, which I started practising during my summer holidays. Around 12 years ago, I returned to live in Sardinia and that is when windsurfing became almost a daily activity. I work at school in the morning and then in the afternoon, when I am free, go windsurfing in one of the many spots in northern Sardinia.

In Sardinia there are plenty of radical wave spots, as well as flat water spots ideal for freestyle or slalom. Initially I was more into wave sailing, but I realized that all the good flat water spots were located close to my house, so it was very easy for me to get there after work and have a windsurfing session. That is mainly the reason why I became passionate about freestyle at the tender age of 47. I actually started my first Vulcan attempts at that age and slowly learned more moves. I must admit that it has become a real addiction, but also a personal challenge to those who told me that at that age it was impossible to learn freestyle.

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