Starboard’s racing fraternity get ready for the first event in the PWA’s slalom calendar.

As the countdown begins to the opening event of the 2009 slalom season, all parties involved, from sponsors, trainers, tacticians and riders, are fully utilizing the final valuable weeks before the green flag gets hoisted for the start of the 2009 Dwarf8 Surf World Cup in Podersdorf, Austria.

For 2009, the PWA has stipulated that riders will have to select 3 boards and 6 sails to use for the entire season. The result of a ‘bad’ decision could carry huge implications, meaning that thorough pre-season testing is vitally important when faced with having to decide on which 3 boards and 6 sails would match each rider best for the season ahead.

Here’s what Kevin Pritchard and Jimmy Diaz, two of Starboard’s most experienced racers, have to say on approach to 2009’s opening event:

KP: "This year’s challenge has been to figure out which 3 boards are going to work the best for the entire tour. It is so hard when all the boards are working good to really nail it down. I have been testing a lot with Jimmy and we are trying to figure it out. It has been really fun to have someone on the team that is in Maui and willing to test and train with me. I am looking forward to the upcoming season! For now I think I am going to go with the 133, 101, and 86, but we are still in the process of figuring it out. All the boards are so fast this season that it is really a challenge!”

JD: "We have been sailing around the buoys quite a bit and it has been fun. I am really loving the way these Starboards are gybing this year, and it has really improved my game a lot. Training with Kevin around the marks is always fun ‘cause you know he is going for it, pushing as hard as he can. It definitely keeps you on your toes and this is good for the race training.”