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Road to Gold Q&A Call with Sam Sills, Olympic foiling maestro

by Andy Rice 7 Mar 2023 21:55 NZDT 8 March 2023
Road to Gold Q&A Call with Sam Sills © Road to Gold

How to survive in a 'Sudden Death' world...

Over the past year Sam Sills (GBR) has been one of the most consistent performers on the new foiling windsurfing circuit. Competing on the massively popular iQFOiL tour, one of the new events on the Olympic sailing scene, Sam has been wearing the leader's yellow bib quite a bit in recent months. But even if he sometimes finds himself clocking up a huge points lead during qualifying, Sam doesn't necessarily find himself on the top step of the podium at the end of the last day.

The 'sudden death' format, the winner-takes-all possibilities of the iQFOiL medal series certainly makes for some last-minute drama, as someone from further down the field emerges at the top of the pile. But how do you keep your head straight when you know you're one of the most consistent, acknowledged as one of the best by your peers, yet risk missing out on the glittering prize?

Killer Mindset

With a gold medal at stake in Paris 2024, the 'winner takes all' format presents a fascinating, high-pressure mental challenge for the foiling windsurfers, very different from the more predictable double points Medal Race still being contested by the 'boat' classes.

Road To Gold* will be exploring the mindset that Sam and his rivals will need to find for the final year and a bit before they set foot on the big stage for the Olympic competition.

We'll also be asking Sam about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different types of windsurfing and other sailing backgrounds that have all converged on the iQFOiL circuit. From the raw talent and speed of the freestylers to the more tactical racecraft of the seasoned campaigners from other Olympic disciplines.

Join Road To Gold for a free Zoom call and a 60-minute Q&A session with Sam to learn how to apply his hard-earned experience to your own windsurfing and sailing ventures.

Questions? Seize the moment!

Road To Gold Q&A calls are free to join live, and offer a rare opportunity to speak directly with some of the best sailors in the world. If you've got questions about training, teamwork, attitude, technical challenges, anything related to making your boat or board go faster, join these calls live. Road To Gold's Andy Rice and Hamish Willcox will be fielding live questions throughout each 60-minute session.

Here's the link for the Q&A call with Sam Sills

Join Zoom Meeting with Sam Sills
us06web.zoom.us/j/85890290585?pwd=d1Q0eXVXSExUV2U3cXdkckpUbzBzQT09

Meeting ID: 858 9029 0585
Passcode: 229299

Make sure you're signed up to the Road To Gold Facebook Group to get further info on the call.

It's free the join the call Live, but if you can't make it live you can get downloadable recordings of this session and other Road To Gold Q&As by following the link below and subscribing to the calls at a very favourable rate:

To subscribe to Live Coaching Calls
www.roadtogold.net/p/calls

What is Road To Gold?

Whether you're a keen weekend racer or full-time professional, Road To Gold is designed to make you go faster. In late 2020, Road To Gold started out as a 12-step online programme on how to put together a world-class sailboat racing campaign. Created by one of the world's most renowned sailing coaches, Hamish Willcox, and experienced sailing journalist and commentator Andy Rice, Road To Gold has established itself in the marketplace as the go-to source of proven expertise for developing your racing skills. It has grown into a worldwide community of competitive sailors of all kinds of ability, ranging from weekend club racers to world champions and Olympic medallists.

For more about the 12-step blueprint for a World Class Campaign: www.roadtogold.net

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