A WEY Valley School student battled wind and waves in Worthing for a windsurfing national slalom event.

Scotty Stallman competed in round five of the UK Windsurfing Association, British Slalom Association (BSA) Slalom Series.

The 14-year-old scored seventh in the incredibly competitive Professional Fleet, which he started competing in this year.

Stallman said: “When we arrived at Worthing early Saturday morning, the wind was building up nicely. The race brief confirmed 12 to 16 knots on the course and that racing would start shortly.

“Having sailed there before, I knew the swell would increase as the tide came in, this allied to the building winds would make for some chaotic but full-on racing.

“There were slightly stronger winds and rain on Sunday and we managed seven counting rounds of racing over the weekend.

“Gybing round the marks in these conditions is really difficult. You try to run down the top of the wave and run down it round the mark.

“A couple of times I got caught out and either shot over the wave or was hit by another wave coming over the top of my wave which, when you’re gybing as fast as you can, doesn’t really give you much of a chance.

“However, it is the same for all the rest of the fleet who are also gybing all around you as well, so there’s no excuses.”

With two more events in the series to go, Stallman will be hoping to improve his BSA Ranking of sixth overall.