So for some inexplicable reason I am going to be entering DEFI wind this year www.windmag.com/defi-wind
Awesome! but there is a snag, so am wondering if anyone has entered it before or had to resolve a similar issue for other windsurfing comps. As part of the entry/registration I need to provide
'A medical certificate of suitability and fitness for the purpose of practicing competitive windsurfing, Signed and stamped, it has to be issued less than one year before the last day of competition.'
I just phoned GP and apparently they need a certificate to sign (i.e. perhaps, unsurprisingly they don't have a stock of blank windsurfing medical certificates) but defi wind don't seem to issue anything. Anyone got any ideas?
Bernie
"Insurance the white man's burden."
A letter certifying fitness is a "certificate". Does Defi demand a proforma?
If so they should be able to scan one and email it if its not already on the web site.
Yep, I thought they'd have something on their website to download but unfortunately not!
I'll try messaging them again and see what happens.
Just get your doctor to write a letter on their letterhead saying you;re fit to windsurf. Kind of like they do for a referral.
Contact Vando, he had a crack at it a few years ago. Good luck, it's one that's on my bucket list too.
Get a doctor to write down you are fit to enter an long distance windsurfing competition and you'll be fine.
Good luck, there's going to be 1300 of you's this year !!!!!
Select to expand quoteseanhogan said..
Get a doctor to write down you are fit to enter an long distance windsurfing competition and you'll be fine.
Good luck, there's going to be 1300 of you's this year !!!!!
Yep just need a letter from ya doc that you are fit for windsurfing.
French winsurfer here (4 years in NSW, relocated in 2014) and 3 time Defi entrant (2009,2010, 2015... 2016). The 'competition' part is really important*. So, what seanhogan said, basically.
If you want in, sign in on the first day (next monday 10 am paris time). While it might not sell out in 24h, you're not the only one to have seen those videos... I reckon it might sell out in less than 5 days.
For more details on doing the defi from an aussie point of view, get in touch with izymiester who did it last year. I also have a uni mate coming this year, so you won't be the only australian joining in on the fun. Keep in mind that chance of wind during the defi are 50% (but if there's wind, it will be over 25kt). You can mitigate that by staying longer. I'd say 75% change of wind over a week, and 95% over two.
*Context: In France, when joining a sport club, you need your GP to sign you off for that sport at the beginning of the school/uni year (september). And if you want to enter competitions, the GP shall have mentionned that you were fit for competiting in that sport. It is up to the GP to decide which tests are required for him to sign you off for a particular sport. For sailing most GP would check your joins, and quickly look for any heart/respiratory and ENT (Otolaryngology) region issues.
The defi is a bit picky, so they want your GP to stamp that piece of paper, as well as sign it. You'll also need it to be dated (and the date shall be after the 8/05/2015).
EDIT: When signing up you will have to select the temporary sailing permit which will add 26 euros to the price.
Full details from the organisation: www.windmag.com/media/D%c3%a9fi%20Wind/2016/Docs%20pre%20event/Defi%20Wind_Terms%20&%20Conditions.pdf
Cheers guys for the input. All things being equal I'll be able to get a signed and stamped letter sorted in time then.
1300 competitors - thats a sh#tload on the water - I anticipate carnage!
The windmag website is buggy (blinking a lot). An alternative is to directly use the booking platform (weezevent) instead of the embedded form on the windmag website: www.weezevent.com/evenement.php?id_evenement=149869&lg_billetterie=2
You get an email withing seconds of completeing the booking process.
I guess with the age and weight problem thing of most windsurfers left, its common sense. They don't want 50 people having strokes/heart attacks in the first 50m. 
Woohoo... all entered! I might be excessively amped up for an event that isn't happening for another 3 months, but can't wait :)
Hopefully my docs letter ticks all the boxes and it uploaded correctly etc etc.
1300 entrants in less than 24 hours! Damn but thats a lot of enthusiasm for the sport.
Glad I took the urgency to enter seriously! Just got confirmation that my application is complete, (my doctors letter was all good - cheers guys!) I am in the race!
It's open again, so maybe not full yet. There will be official information soon enough. At any rate, that's two aussie sailors confirmed already.
