How My Dreams Take Me Through Change

By Marion Lepert

Every time someone asks me what my favorite activity is, I answer windsurfing, and every time I get blank stares. “What’s that?” is the question that most commonly follows. This is no surprise because windsurfing is not very popular in the United States. In fact, I have only met a couple dozen American junior windsurfers. But this has not stopped me from loving the sport. I have been windsurfing for eight years, and racing for five. During the summer, I race with an amazing group of San Francisco windsurfers, who have taught me everything I know about racing. In four years, they have helped me go from struggling just to finish a course to being able to race internationally.

This past July, I competed in two world championships for windsurfing. My first event was in Puerto Rico and was the world championships for formula windsurfing, using the board that I regularly race with in the San Francisco bay. Racing at this level is a lot more stressful than the small races that I am used to doing in the bay. It switches me into a different mindset where every race counts. This was definitely the case for this event, because the results came down to the last two races. I narrowly won 1st place, but only after a long battle with the girl who finished 2nd. Winning a world championship was very rewarding, but it does not stop me from wanting to go further. The men were still far ahead of the women, and I want to see how much closer I can get to them.


A week later, I competed in the Techno 293 Worlds which were conveniently located in the bay area. Because the T293 board is very popular in Europe and is sailed by hundreds of youth, there was a class designated for Under 17 girls. Sailing on this board is much more difficult for me, because there are no races in the bay that use this board, so I can only practice on my own. During the first days of racing, I clung on to first place, but on the last day, I had two bad races, and I lost the world title, finishing second. Losing everything so close to the end made me sad and frustrated, but at the same time it made me take a look back and see how far I had come. It made me feel grateful to all of those who have taken the time to help me, and it only made dream bigger and want to achieve more.

As exciting as racing internationally was, it feels good to be back free sailing in the bay area. I get a month to relax before I start school again, and I want to get as much time as I can on the water before then to just have fun. To me, this is the best way to relax after a competition, and it gives me some time to transition before I need to start thinking about what I want to do next. I am now too old to sail on the Techno 293 board, so I will be moving up to the Olympic board. It will be another change to get used to, but I plan on following my dreams and seeing where the winds will take me.
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Marion Lepert is a fifteen year old girl who was born in France, but is now living in the San Francisco bay area with her parents and two sisters. Her father taught her how to windsurf when she was eight years old, and since then she has raced competitively across the United States and Europe. Aside from windsurfing, Marion has a passion for green solutions and is an avid participant in her high school’s green team, where she will be starting her junior year next year. For more information about Marion, visit her website at www.marionusa143.com.