My story

I’m Lachlan Vize, an 18 year old windsurfer from Frankston, Victoria. After learning to sail in a Minnow at McCrae Yacht club in the Mornington Peninsula shire, I built my racing skills in catamarans, before moving onto windsurfers.

I compete in two windsurfing classes; the IQ Foil, an exhilarating sport which blends traditional windsurfing with a foil, allowing riders to race at speeds exceeding 25 knots, and the Windsurfer LT, the fastest growing sailing class in the country. I would like to invite you to support me on my journey to represent Australia in windsurfing, and to compete overseas in 2025. 

My achievements

It’s been a busy year of training and competing, with events in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, as well as my first international regatta.

I was honoured to be selected for the Australian team to compete at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands, an event held every four years bringing together athletes from the whole Pacific region. This was an amazing opportunity to race against top level sailors and meet athletes from New Caledonia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, New Zealand and many more, in an event described as the Pacific Olympic Games. After a week of hard-fought racing in tough conditions, I won both the silver individual medal and the bronze teams medal. I was honoured to be awarded the prestigious male Youth Athlete of the Pacific Games award.  

December 2023 saw me heading to Perth, Western Australia, to compete in my first world title event against 250 board riders from around the world. I raced in slalom, course racing and the marathon event, then finished the series by making it through to the Slalom Super Final. It was a steep learning curve racing against former Olympians and world champions, and I was excited to exceed my goals and finish with a 25^th overall, 7^th place in the lightweight division and a 4^th in the men’s slalom. I was the highest placed male youth and was incredibly grateful to win the youth scholarship. 

I finished the year by competing at the Sail Sydney regatta on the youth IQ foil, racing in slalom and course racing before returning to Melbourne to continue my training before the Victorian Youth Championships at Sorrento. 

My training

I train on both the windsurfer LT and the IQ foil, and each week sees me balancing my Year 12 studies with time on the water along with strength and cardio training. If you spend time on the beach at McCrae or rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula, you will often see me on the water with my training partner, clocking up sessions of over 50km, at speeds of around 20-25 knots. 

Into the future

I believe in setting long and short term goals for my windsurfing. Looking to the future, I’m aiming to compete overseas during the 2025 season, to gain valuable big fleet experience in the IQ adult fleet. I plan to travel to Europe mid-year to compete at the Windsurfer European Championships. Throughout 2024 I will be training hard and working on skill development goals, ready for the Australian summer events including Sail Melbourne and Sail Sydney, then the IQ and Windsurfer Nationals. 

Funding and support

It’s easy to simply ask for funding to pay for travel and equipment, but what I’d love to do is take you on my windsurfing journey with me. We all know that Australian athletes often struggle to fund overseas campaigns and continue in their chosen sports. Many athletes stop competing simply because they run out of funds. While funding is vital for my ongoing success in windsurfing, I also believe that it is important for supporters to know and understand their investment. 

I understand that not everyone can afford to make a donation, and I want you to know that support and interest is just as important to me too. I’d love to share my training, news, updates and successes with you, and let you share in the highs, and the lows, of competing in windsurfing. Your donation will help me train, purchase equipment, travel and pay for on water support.

‘Greatness isn’t something you achieve, it’s something you continuously pursue.’