coast INTERVIEW
ANDY COOPER meets the bright British star of a new Olympic sport who is hoping to make a splash in Paris in 2024
When Saskia Sills says she grew up in Cornwall, one immediately reasons she is so good at her sport because she hit the surf off the county’s iconic beaches from the get-go, taking to the waters like a natural.
But it’s more nuanced than that. Yes, Saskia did spend many a childhood hour surfing and bodyboarding in the waters off north Cornwall in places such as Mother Ivey’s Bay, Constantine and Harlyn. But her introduction to the world of watersports – and all that has followed in terms of a successful career as an elite IQ Foil windsurfer – came at a rather more inland setting.
For it was at Roadford Lake, a huge reservoir close to Launceston, that Saskia and her siblings – older brother Sam and her identical twin sister Imogen – first got bitten by the bug of highadrenalin windsurfing on the water.
“Growing up in Cornwall of course we were a family who spent lots of time at the beach,” explains Saskia, 26, “but when I trace back how we first got into windsurfing it was that first visit to Roadford Lake when Sam wanted to try his hand at the sport that first kicked off our interest, which ultimately led us to where we are today.
“Like any younger sister, as soon as I saw Sam start to do something, I wanted to have a go too. I adored what he did and the adventures he was having and wanted to be a part of it.
“The same went for Immy. As sisters we just wanted to get out on the lake too. I don’t think my parents had a lot of choice really…we were that determined to try it out. Nothing would stop us.
“I vividly remember a cold, stormy day at Roadford Lake and I really, really wanted to get out on the water. My Mum said ‘all your friends are getting together for sleepovers, are you sure you want to be here?’. But I was determined – it was all I ever wanted to do.
“It was a space where I felt free. I still do. There is no greater feeling than being out on the water on your board.
For parents Carole and Richard it became clear from when their three children were at an early age that their enthusiasm was backed up by plenty of talent. As Saskia recalls, she took part in her first competitive event, the National Championships, at the age of nine, and in many senses has not looked back since.
Championship after championship followed for Saskia, always competing at the same events as her siblings, in Imi’s case in the same age class. Their prominence as growing talents in the sport really came to the fore at the 2009 Youth World Cha
