It is with great sadness that the editors of Stand Up Magazine have just heard that the founder and honorary chairman of VDWS Thomas Weindhardt passed away these days.
“His dedication, passion and tireless efforts have shaped the VDWS like no other over the more than 40 years. Thomas has not only promoted our work and values, but also created countless friendships and connections within our community.” – VDWS –
Thomas was also very attached to Stand Up magazine. We looked back on many years of collaboration and conducted 2 interviews with Thomas during this time. Even in recent years, Thomas was still very committed and campaigned for water sports. For example, when it came to fighting the foil ban in Saxony. We accompanied Thomas Weinhardt and the VDWS in the media over the years and will miss him very much.
Rest In Peace my friend! Your work and enthusiasm will live on in all of us.
The last interview with Thomas from March 2024 here.
This was our first big interview with Thomas in issue 12 of Stand Up Magazin:
Stand Up Magazine: Aloha Thomas, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.
Thomas Weinhardt: With pleasure.
SUM: Can you briefly tell us who you are and how long you’ve been in windsurfing?
TW:
My water sports career began at the age of five, when I had to row home alone in my father’s fishing boat at night 😉 I started sailing at the age of 13 and then took part in regattas on different types of boats for many years. When windsurfing was invented and came to Europe in 1972, we had the first windsurfer on the lake in 1973 and proudly surfed from shore to shore without falling in. I later financed my sports studies by working as a sailing, skiing and windsurfing instructor. In 1979, I obtained my VDWS windsurfing instructor license and worked worldwide as a station manager for various clubs and tour operators. I was involved in book and film projects and worked for 15 years as a member of the VDWS teaching team in the training of windsurfing and sailing instructors. I was initially treasurer on the VDWS board and am now VDWS president.
SUM: The VDWS is not a sports association, but a training association. What exactly do you do?
TW:
The VDWS was founded in 1974 as a pure windsurfing association with the aim of training windsurfing instructors and supporting professional windsurfing schools in their work. An important building block was the introduction of the basic license, which has now been issued over 1.9 million times by our schools. In the early days of windsurfing, the motto was: “No board sales without training and a license.”
Back then, the association was called the “Association of German Windsurfing Schools”. However, as our schools have changed, the name was later adapted: windsurfing became watersports. The name no longer quite fits, as only around 200 of our 540 VDWS schools are located in Germany, while the remaining 340 schools are active in over 30 countries. However, the “VDWS” brand stands for quality in water sports training worldwide, which is why the name remains – similar to BMW, which is active worldwide, although the name means “Bayerische Motoren Werke”.
As the leading training association for beach sports, we have expanded our range to include kitesurfing and SUP. We currently have 4,300 members, organize around 1,100 basic and advanced training courses for water sports instructors every year and offer our schools a comprehensive range of services, e.g. training materials in up to ten languages. We are also in regular contact with authorities and ministries when it comes to issues such as water use or area restrictions.
SUM: When and where did you first hear about SUP?
TW:
That was around 2009 through our international water sports network.
SUM: The VDWS title says: Surf – Kite – Dinghy – Cat and SUP. In which order did the different sports come to the VDWS?
TW:
When the windsurfing boom slowed down in the early 1990s, many of our member schools expanded their offerings – initially to include catamaran sailing and later also dinghy sailing. It goes without saying that we, as a training association, developed the appropriate concepts and materials for this and set up a high-quality teacher training program. Kitesurfing was added in 2000 and SUP was introduced as an independent fifth training pillar in 2016. However, we had already completed a first SUP methodology handout with 50 pages for our schools in 2011.
SUM: Speaking of the title, it says “Surf”. Are people in Germany aware that in the rest of the world “surfen” stands for surfing and the sport is actually called windsurfing? How did this confusion come about?
TW:
Yes, that’s right. The slogan “Surf – Kite – Dinghy – Cat and SUP” is simply more catchy. This mission statement came about a few years ago during a strategy discussion in the Executive Board.
SUM: Sorry for the interjection, but I thought you were the right person for this topic.
TW:
Well, I used to not only ride windsurfing boards, but also surfboards regularly in the waves. From a historical perspective, the VDWS is actually a wind sports association that is now opening up to paddling on a board for the first time – which is also a link to windsurfing. Even in the early days of windsurfing, surf instructors left the rig on the beach when there was little wind and circled around their windsurfing students standing up with the paddle.
SUM: Back to your title: Are the schools separated by sport, or do they all do everything?
TW:
That varies greatly and essentially depends on the possibilities of the respective location. There are schools that offer everything or almost everything, and others that focus on just one or two sports. We currently have 130 schools that are also listed as SUP centers – this means that a SUP instructor is on duty there.
SUM: When we met for the first time in 2013, the VDWS seemed to be just starting to get involved with SUP. How was the VDWS’s involvement received by the other wind sports?
TW:
We have closely monitored the development of the sport from the very beginning and regularly offered training courses on surfing and SUP for our members. When it became apparent that SUP would continue to develop, we asked our schools for their opinion every year. Until 2013, the feedback was predominantly negative, in 2014 the mood was divided, and from 2015 the pendulum swung clearly in favor of SUP. As our work is always geared towards the needs of our members, this was the signal for us to take off in the same way as with other sports.
SUM: Are people who windsurf or sail actually different people to those who stand up paddle?
TW:
The customers in the schools are as diverse as the sport itself. There are numerous facets to SUP: flat water, touring, racing, yoga, waves, running water – the range of people who practice the sport is correspondingly wide. This ranges from the simple “try it out” to wave freaks. The affinity of a windsurfer for SUP is certainly higher than that of a classic sailor, although sailors are also increasingly recognizing the new possibilities.
SUM: Is SUP now more than just a killer of windsurfing schools?
TW:
In strong wind areas, SUP still tends to be a doldrums killer, although downwinders, tours or the wave experience are also increasingly being offered there. Schools inland and at locations with less wind are increasingly recognizing the training potential of SUP. Our SUP instructor training courses also contribute to this. In fact, there is a lot of technique to discover beyond simple paddling.
SUM: Which is your strongest division: SUP, windsurfing, kitesurfing or sailing?
TW:
Measured by the number of basic licenses issued, which include a practical and theoretical exam, windsurfing is still the basis in schools with 36,000 to 40,000 licenses per year. This is followed by sailing with 12,000 to 14,000 licenses and kitesurfing with around 8,000 basic licenses.
For SUP, our schools do not issue basic certificates, but instead issue so-called safety cards in addition to the workbooks, which confirm appropriate safety and environmental protection instruction. However, as we are only in the second season, we cannot yet put a precise figure on this. But this will develop.
SUM: We are currently experiencing how the International Surfing Association and the International Canoeing Association are bickering about the SUP sport. How is the VDWS experiencing the squabbling?
TW:
When a new sport establishes itself, such a dispute between associations is pretty normal at first, especially if the potential of the sport is great – which is undoubtedly the case with SUP. Other trend sports have gone through similar things. It would be best for the athletes and the public image if the various associations could agree on a format. However, I know from many years of experience that this is often the most difficult path to take, as there is a lack of willingness to compromise.
The alternative is that every association tries to assert and assert itself. Although traditional sports associations have tried and tested structures, they struggle with the formats and philosophy of trend sports. Conversely, young associations are closer to the sport, but often fail due to a lack of organization and funding.
SUM: As an uninvolved third party, what advice would you give to the two associations?
TW:
Large sports federations are often determined by politics – which means that the actual sport and the interests of the athletes are neglected. I hope that this is not the case here and that the two associations will agree on a viable solution in the interests of the sport. SUP has a completely different lifestyle, but also enormous sporting potential – right up to the Olympics. These opportunities must not be blocked by disputes.
SUM: What does the future hold for the VDWS? Do you have any plans for SUP?
TW:
Until 2016, the VDWS was purely a wind sports association with the four core disciplines of windsurfing, kitesurfing, catamaran and dinghy sailing. With SUP, a wind-independent discipline was added for the first time. We have developed an independent teacher training program including training material in several languages, a workbook for our schools’ customers (currently in four languages), safety cards, school flags and more. We have also established a team of 15 instructors who regularly coordinate and undergo further training.
We have already invested considerable financial resources in this area and will continue to do everything necessary. We know from experience that this development will still take years, but we are continuing along this path together with our members.
SUM: Thank you very much for the interview.