Singaporean windsurfers hope to raise awareness about the sport ahead of 2028 Olympics

SINGAPORE – When Angyal Chew’s older sister broached the subject of her switching from sailing’s laser class to windsurfing two years ago, she was apprehensive.

Making a change would entail moving away from her training base at Changi to East Coast Park and leaving a set-up she had grown accustomed to.

But she eventually decided to give it a go – her sister Angel, 20, made a similar move in 2021 – and has not looked back since.

The 16-year-old said: “Trying something new always makes me a bit nervous, but it’s always good to have people to push me.

“Because I was pushed into windsurfing, I discovered that I actually really enjoyed the speed, the thrill and, once I got past the stage of the sail falling in and having to pick it up, it got really fun.”

Once hesitant to move away from her Changi training base, the teenager, who began competing in the iQFoil class in 2023, has since travelled to countries such as the Philippines and Italy to advance her windsurfing career.

The iQFoil made its Olympic debut at the recent Paris Olympics, replacing the RS:X as the windsurfing class for the Games.

Compared to the RS:X, the iQFoil has a foil at the base of the board which reduces water resistance, thus allowing the sailor to travel at faster speeds.

With iQFoil now in the Olympic spotlight, the sisters and fellow windsurfer Marsha Shahrin launched an initiative in June, Project: Empowered Excellence, to generate more support for women and girls competing in the category.

The fundraising campaign aims to spread more awareness about iQFoil, and garner financial support for Singapore’s windsurfers to compete overseas, as well as cover expenses such as coaching and equipment.

Light and inconsistent wind conditions mean that Singaporean windsurfers have to go overseas to hone their craft. That was what Angel and Angyal did earlier in 2024, when they travelled to Anilao in the Philippines, after asking their Filipino counterparts if they could train with them.

Their split-second decision to spend a month in a coastal town 120km from Manila exposed the siblings to conditions they had never experienced before, with winds of up to 30 knots on some days.

While sailing is restricted to certain zones in Singapore waters, Angel recalled how they had no such limits in the Philippines, and the sisters even encountered dolphins, turtles and jellyfish during their training sessions.

She said: “The space really allowed us to practise our long tacks (a manoeuvre), things we have to do when racing in other countries but never had to do in Singapore.

“The conditions, having constant winds, help when you’re trying to learn a new skill or develop something.”

Shortly after that, Angyal travelled to Lake Garda in Italy in June, training in 13 deg C waters ahead of the Youth Sailing World Championships at the same venue a month later.

Angel and Angyal, who are both on a gap year from school, are hoping that the experience gained from these overseas stints will help them qualify for major events such as the 2025 SEA Games and 2026 Asian Games.

Angyal, who delayed taking her O levels by a year, is also aiming to compete at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, in 2026.

Through their exploits and initiative, Angel also hopes to increase female representation in sailing, noting that there is still a disparity between the number of male and female competitors in certain events.

For example, the 2024 iQFoil Under-23 World Championships featured 47 girls and 101 boys.

Marsha, who competed at the 2018 YOG, added: “We wanted to help to promote women’s sports, even if it’s through a small initiative.

“If more people and more Singaporeans hear about this like how they hear about Max Maeder’s kitefoiling, the community will be more interested in supporting athletes and female athletes, which is equally important.”

The 23-year-old, who has competed at the SEA Games, Asian Games and most recently at the Professional Windsurfers Association Windsurf World Cup, shared that people often do not know much about the sport.

Since starting the project, the Chew sisters and Marsha have done a series of windsurfing introductory sessions and also set up a fund-raising page.

Marsha said: “It’s about creating more positive experiences for people who want to join windsurfing.

“At the end of the day, sports is also about how much you can bring in and the viewership and, if no one knows about it, then the sport will die out.”