Stance

Getting your stance right is a bit like eating your vegetables. We know it’s important and done right could have a dramatic impact, but it’s maybe not as exciting as other things we could be getting stuck into! However, stance is the one bit of windsurfing that joins every single move together, so if you get it right it will allow a huge amount of progression. It’s also the most important thing for sorting your entry to moves, which is where most issues occur.

- Sam Ross

“RIG POSITION AND HARNESS LINE TENSION SHOULD BE CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL WIND STRENGTHS.”

The challenge to overcome with stance is often the perception of what we think good stance looks like, versus what it should look like. From our early windsurfing days we’re told to often do things like ‘commit’, ‘lean back’, ‘get our hips in’, and a few more caustic phrases. Whilst many of these help us overcome short term symptoms, they do create a few long term gremlins that then hold us back at a higher level.

The head, shoulder and hips are in line; the harness squeezing out for maximum tension in the line. Upper body is upright, therefore rig is upright and planted on the board.

UPRIGHT

The rig reflects our upper body position, so if the focus is on having an upright rig, then we also need to have an upright body. Rig position and harness line tension should be consistent across all wind strengths, our stance range is only really changed by what we’re doing with our legs. In lighter winds our legs are straighter, and in higher winds more flex is needed in the legs and sinking of the hips, but the gap between the harness hook and the rig still has to stay the same.

Essentially the head and hips are pretty much vertically in line. The back is upright and therefore so is the rig.