Seeing its cold and chilly and we can only dream of sailing warm sunny windy days currently, thought we'd throw the discussion forum open for ideas for Freerace in 2016, and yes winners to be announced shortly!
Freerace in Qld is now two seasons old and has had a lot of people attend at various different points, not always at the same time or consistently however. Last season we really wanted to take it 'on the road' so to speak and try some different locations so not everyone would have to travel all the time, take it to the people so to speak.
Wind was a massive challenge in 14/15, the lack of..but we did manage 5 races, 4 of those in really good conditions.
We introduced the 1/2 hour for newbies, and also the 3 class/groups, SMS race notices, tinkered with the idea of 'results/races' within the race , eg different categories within the hour, beach starts, possible 2hr/100km challenge and even a Non GPS location (jetty to jetty) race at Sandgate that was a lot of fun at a great venue and locations.
Freerace is certainly catching on around the place, NSW have been running events, VIC, WA, New Caledonia and New Zealand are all looking at doing also. We now have had a Tasmanian and NSW winner at the Nats, Qld/TAS in the women's, and each state has had reps compete in the Nats also.
From a Club/Organising/Logistics point of view its a lot easier to hold a freerace than a traditional race as less resources are required, and we have some great locations with 'natural boundaries' that make it easy also, and we have KA72.com developing amazing software and improving it all the time making better and easier all the time.
We did the online survey last winter and it confirmed we were on track by the positive data collected, but we really want to make it bigger and better in 2016 and get LOTS of people attending often, the more that attend the better the race.
We have a few ideas tucked away up our sleeve. But this year we are handing it over to you guys/girls to provide comment/ideas/discussions for the next few weeks, on anything that you think would be great to do...anything and everything will be considered so let loose!
Keep in mind , the overriding concepts and goals of Freerace are:
Fun, Fast, Challenging, Low key, Low Hassle, Flexible, Low gear/Must be windy, and to attract as many people onto the water together sailing at the same time at the same place, to promote the sport both internally and externally.
to start things off:
We are looking at 3 class groups, possibly some non GPS reliant events.
1 - Race (Race sails, Slalom/Race Boards) Any Size, 60Min/Long Distance
2 - Freerace/Freeride, (Non Slalom/No Cam) Any size, 60Min/Long Distance
3 - Newbie/Junior (any gear) 30 Minutes/Short Distance
We are also looking at a 'Location/race/director manager' for each event, and require some new volunteers to be part of the Freerace committee team/people, if you don't want to commit publicly to be involved feel free to send a PM to us.
The court is open.. however no one will be judged, feel free to say whatever ideas you have.
In case you missed last seasons highlights..
I for one am hoping freerace is back in late 2015 and into 2016.
I think if we can move towards including freeride sailors more and have a turning marker set up it will accommodate more accessibility and hence more people at events.
And if we included recognition at events for some all day categories like, longest distance, alpha and NM then people would be encouraged to make a day of it and have opportunity to focus on something other than just the 1hr or 30mins.
The Freerace was good fun. There is not much I can ad being an intermediate - it would be good to see more intermediates join in - especially as though there is a 1/2 hour category for we improvers.
What about an intermediate 1hr comp?
There are a few of us about these days 
I'm with you Brynoz looking forward to the return of freerace later this year and next 
I do have a couple of lads with Jet Skiis happy to keep an eye on us at times when they can
I really enjoyed the freerace events this year - thanks guys
Cheers
Morgan
Does freerace run muliple races in a day and could the event be like a regatta. FWIW one of the things I like about course racing is going to regattas and doing multiple races over 2 or 3 days. Even multiple races on one day would interest me more. A half hour or even one hour doesnt seem enough sailing time if you spend hours getting there and rigging and packing up and getting home. 3 or 4 half hour races would be good it would give you an opportunity to improve your result in the same conditions and maybe have a drop if enough races are held.
I believe that free race should cater for the advanced riders first and foremost, but as an 'intermediate' I would like to give it a try with those around my ability level. Any chance for some Saturday races? The choice of Sunday is the main limiting factor for me not to participate so far.
Great stuff, some of the points from above,
*Morgan - yes if there were enough intermediates to form a separate division no problem.. although where does 'intermediate' , and 'Newbie' change? If you have ever sailed with a Pro or even some of the top guys in Qld...the speed difference makes an experienced sailor feel like a newbie! We would love to have the 'Morganski's' around!..the Freerace/Freeride class is kind of that 'intermediate' class already, lets see how the numbers stack up.
*Cam - yes, good idea, is on the drawing board already, fill the day make it worth the journey.
*Mark - Saturday race days, we have done a few already..kind of had too as Sunday's are/were not always windy...but Sat can be harder for many though with kids sport commitments work etc.. most likely it would be Sat or Sunday's pending wind, wind beggars in SE Qld cant be choosers it seams!
The freerace series is aimed at all levels, from Newbies to Hardened race crew....its the newbies and 'intermediates' that we really want to encourage to join in, and as some will testify it will improve your sailing...working on achieving a consistent speed for 1hr improves your sailing consistency and fitness big time. Trying to crack 20knts for an hour is not as easy at is sounds! There are many Newbies and Intermediates out there, and we want them to be involved.
*Bryn's idea links the day in with the GPSTC a bit also, so your team could be racking up points whilst sailing at a FR event day, possible opportunity for team v's team bragging rights on the day based on a level playing field of all being on the same patch of water at the same time.
Keep them coming, nothings in or out...its all about gathering feed back and ideas.
One of the other drawing board ideas, is to build on what we started with Sandgate this season ...Jetty to Jetty...or of its like it was this year it might have to be jetty to bridge!
Possibly a few heats.. nice long distance challenging blast, great location and conditions.
It will require the 'morganskis'!
MarkSSC, probably initially Freerace required a particular level of equipment, skill and fitness because of the way it was structured.
Bit what sounds like is being proposed is a clear move to incorporate, via a regatta style arrangement, a broader range of windsurfing styles to achieve a more social and interesting day.
I too hope the Freerace events carry on in a similar fashion, they are incredibly challenging and satisfying and I have really enjoyed everyone I've been involved with.
I know in Tassy they were doing a day where they captured all of the categories and whoever got the best score on the day won. I think they called it the best of five, best alpha, best 2 sec, best one hour, best 500, best 1 mile? Not sure if I got that entirely correct but you get the idea. It just added another dimension to the event.
Some healthy conversation about FR and GPS events going on in the NSW thread, worth a read, and adding comments and feedback here.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/New-South-Wales/NSW-GPS-Series-2015-2016-Scoring-ideas/
