The Windsurf Queen of Swansea
Georgia Stolliday sits before me, the quintessential surf girl, with her white-blonde hair curling out from under her beanie, vans clumsily laced and Saltrock tee sitting oversized and comfy. I’ve managed to drag the Windsurf President away from the chaos of the refreshers fair for a chat and a coffee. We’re snuggled into a quiet corner of the uni’s Bay Campus, hazelnut, oat lattes steaming away besides us.
“I didn’t want to be there!” Georgia tells me as she explains how her windsurfing began with a hatred for sailing. Growing up near Roadford Lake (then Siblyback Lake), her family tried to encourage her into sailing. It didn’t take. “I was a grumpy, little, cold kid, with cold hands” she remembers. And after a free taster session for windsurfing, she completely fell in love, finding the sport to come naturally to her, “…and I’ve never gone back since.” In the first years, it required a lot of dedication, long journeys to and from Siblyback, and days out on the cold water. It didn’t stop her. As Georgia grew older though, the level of windsurf offered at her home lake wasn’t enough for her skills (stopping at intermediate instruction) and her surfing was put on hold for 4 years. That is until she came to Swansea University, which Georgia chose “purely” for windsurfing, doing her research on which unis in the UK had a wind-surf society.
People say to Georgia, “Oh you do a degree? I thought you just windsurfed the whole time!”
Then Summer 2022 rolls around, and Georgia ends up becoming Windsurf Captain at the university. She talks about her love of teaching and passing on knowledge. “I’m very passionate about it [windsurfing]…It’s not accessible to a lot of people, it’s expensive!” she exclaims. Georgia tells me that her main goal as captain is to bring windsurfing to as many people as possible during her time here. “And, generally, I think I’m quite bossy and I love telling people what to do”. Being Captain has become her little outlet for control. The role fits her perfectly. And whilst Georgia studies engineering at Swansea, she makes it quite clear that this is not an industry she wants to go into, but rather be self employed and have her own business.
And just to cram even more in, Georgia recently became the Monster Ambassador for Swansea (creating an outdoor and extreme sport community)! “I’m obsessed with being busy…I want to do everything and try everything!” She confides, and does admit that she struggles to reconcile her time as Captain/Ambassador with her degree, but luckily Windsurfing remains a positive outlet and reset in her student lifestyle.
I ask Georgia about her relationship with Windsurfing. From my own time surfing, I know that board sports can be challenging mentally, and I want to know how she has dealt with those challenges herself. “You have to have a strong mind for wind surfing”, apparently the learning curve is pretty steep. Georgia explains that she developed a lot resilience when she was younger because of this. “You have to have acceptance in order to progress”; she emphasises the importance of the small wins. And when we move on to the topic of competition, Georgia is very clear that she only competes in freestyle events (light wind category and working towards high wind). The other main discipline of windsurfing is racing, which is not something that she has any interest in. She says it’s too much pressure. For her, windsurfing is about having fun. And Georgia can do that with freestyle.
The freestyle approach to windsurf is also something Georgia has carried into her life as, having fun and trying new things. She surfs, windsurfs, climbs, skates, snowboards and slack lines. She loves art and whilst is studying engineering with a Navy bursary, does not see herself following that path. She wants to be freer in her future to travel and to work for herself; potentially something to do with the environment. Georgia talks about the pressure the education system in the UK puts on you to make money, but for her, being fulfilled in life is success. And windsurfing is what fulfills her now.
And beyond the sport, I want to know what Georgia’s relationship with the ocean is. She tells me that it’s her happy place, sitting in the water or on the beach after a surf and watching the sunset - it’s where she fails safest. “The ocean reminds me that you part of a bigger thing, and that calms me” and that’s important to remember as university students when we get so wrapped up in our own world. We agree that the reset the ocean provides is such an essential part of our lives.
We finish off by talking about the future. Georgia doesn’t know quite what it holds for her, but she clearly states that she doesn’t want to be put back in the box (academics over creativity) she was in during childhood, “I’ve grown too much to be put back in!”
Draining the dregs of our now cold coffees we hug and say good bye, going back to the refreshers fair. Back in to the chaos of uni life and reality.
I just want to say a massive thank you to Georgia for taking the time to sit down and talk with me! If you have any questions about Windsurfing or anything we talked about in the blog, leave a comment, send an email or a DM. Or you can message Georgia directly @stollidaygeorgia . Hope you enjoyed the read!