Svein Rasmussen chief of Starboard hands the trophies to Dave withClement Morandiere (International brand manager) on the left.

The Worlds Top Starboard Windsurfing distributors gathered in Thailand last week for the 2016 launch. Every year the company hands out awards for the top performing importers. Tushingham Sails Ltd distributes Starboard in the UK. Over the last two years Germany and Japan have taken top honours but this year Tushingham grabbed both titles. ‘Top sales’ trophy, and the ‘highest growth’ trophy. 

Dave Hackford Co-director of Tushingham picked up the awards whilst at the conference. Dave commented on these great awards ” I thought my days of jumping on stage to grab a trophy had long gone. But I’m competitive so it did feel pretty sweet. I suppose the trophy really belongs to our shops, centres and customers who support this fantastic brand. Thanks to them all.

2013 was a tough year, brands like RRD gained momentum with boards like the ‘Firemove’. The introduction of the new Freeride ATOM in 2014 made the biggest difference to our growth. The board has just received one of the best magazine test reports I have ever read on a board. And it deserves it. Starboard definitely have the best ability to bring slightly higher performance to Freeride shapes without sacrificing ease of sailing. The other area where we are seeing growth is on the Windsups. Wave boards continue to perform also and Severne have some exciting news on wave boards too – watch this space !”

Dave was reluctant to spill any beans on what’s around the corner. But he did say that if you are into the radical Formula type racing – wait until September when the registration dates closes on shapes. It has some smart deck features to help the racer react quicker.