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Mortefon Watersports

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As coaching combos go they don’t get much stronger than the one we are about to tell you about. With quarantine putting the PWA racing season on the back burner for the time being that has given Slalom World Champion - Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) - and his sister - Marion Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / LOKEFOIL) who is the Slalom Vice-World Champion, a chance to move forward their plans to launch Mortefon Watersports! To find out more about their new venture we currently caught up with Pierre and Marion.

Hey Pierre and Marion, how has the quarantine period been for you both? And what is the situation like in France now?

It was definitely not an easy situation with some ups & downs. Beginning was stressful then OK and the end was pretty strange with some authorisation / some not. It was hard to understand why they keep the beaches and natural sites closed after the end of the lockdown. In the end it was the same for everyone and I think we enjoyed some rare family time at home and that was a good thing.

It seems you’ve both been busy during quarantine, can you tell us a little about your new venture Mortefon Watersports? Was this an idea you have always had or did quarantine make you think of different ideas?

Yes we also decide to use this special time to accelerate this project. The idea came from almost 2 years already, but then this period was perfect to make everything happen. We were in contact everyday with Marion as we are not living together and we were trying to solve and move forward in all different aspect of the project from all the legal aspects to the marketing or the equipment…

Which sports will Mortefon Watersports cover?

Our Main activity is for sure windsurfing, but we will have Stand Up Paddle and also Wing which is all the hype at the moment. The door is also open for kitesurfing, but that will be a second step!

It seems like you will offer a kind of roaming centre… how will it work? You watch the forecasts and then travel to the areas most suitable? Or people can request you visit them also?

The key point of the project is to propose an itinerant school. We have a main area which is from Leucate to Gruissan with 5/6 different spots. Some are on a lake without any security problems, others on the open sea, some are shallow and bit quiet… and we will choose the best spot for our riders and for what they want. We now have a big van with enough space for the equipment, but also to carry 7 people + a trailer to take even more equipment with us. We are offering lessons from the very beginning with our daggerboard to high level slalom coaching. But we are not limited to this area, we also want to propose our services to any company who wants to organise a fun day with their crew, family day and also some proper coaching at a national or international event for a youth team for example. Our goal is to really be open to what people want and to answer the best way we can with our experience.

In terms of the coaching side - what levels will you teach?

All - from total beginner to expert! I didn’t mention it before, but one of our best propositions is the 100% girl coaching with Marion. It’s really nice that it’s now pushing lot of girls who want to sail together and enjoy this moment between girls. I am also offering a full slalom day with me and people are really happy, as we enjoy the experience a lot and they progress pretty quickly. We just want to share the passion with people, they have to be smiling when we end the day!

From the looks of it, at certain times coaching will be available from the two of you… is there a minimum level required for that and can you tell us a little bit more about future coaching sessions with you? When they will be etc…

We will launch some dates during the summer and later set fixed dates (and a waiting period) with a clinic of 10 people for example, but if you want a private lesson or day it’s available everyday!

Obviously the majority of the events have been cancelled this year, how does that affect your training schedule and preparation… there’s still a chance of the PWA returning to Marignane in October…

It’s pretty strange as the preparation was stopped less than 2 weeks before the start in Marignane. So we were definitely ON with some hard training at the beginning of the year and we were 150% ready. After the lockdown I was pretty sad to see that I lost a lot in terms of physique and it was strange to be back on training mode for… nothing. On the other hand this project has kept us fully busy and motivated. Now I am almost back in my normal mode and I will prepare the first event as well as I can - it doesn’t matter if it’s in 2020 or 2021, with the time we will be stronger!

Anything else you would like to add?

We also wanted to thank our partners, first of all the Council of Narbonne which helped us a lot with all the logistics, authorisation etc… And it’s also really important to mention that we will use brand new Duotone and Fanatic equipment, with a full range from daggerboard to freeride, freewave, freerace and foil equipment!

Thanks Pierre & Marion. Good luck with your new venture and hopefully we’ll see you back on the race course soon!

You can find out more about Mortefon WaterSports via the following links:

Website - https://www.mortefonwatersports.com/en/ Facebook - @mortefonwatersports   Instagram - @mortefonwatersports

Authors: Super User

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