Polychloroprene and nylon isn't the most comfy of materials, but the little black number would have looked good on John O'Donoghue - our Minister for Fun. Might have given Ladies' Day entrants a run for their money out at Ballybrit?
Sad to say, the arts, sport and tourism minister passed up the wetsuit option out at Rusheen Bay in Galway's Salthill yesterday as he endorsed the Irish Windsurfing Association's (IWA) plan for an Olympic bid.
The Kerryman wouldn't even get his feet wet, but chose terra firma for the photo opportunity. Still, Cathal Kavanagh of the IWA, and manager of Rusheen Bay Windsurfing, was delighted to have him there. The IWA hopes to ensure Ireland is represented on sailboards for the first time at Olympic level when the London games open in 2012.
The plan is to identify new talent among young windsurfers attached to clubs and Irish Sailing Association (ISA) training centres, and select regional centres of excellence which will coach the potential competitors. The ISA is supporting the initiative, which is modelled on the experience of medal-winning states like Hong Kong and New Zealand.
As Gwilym Williams, current Irish windsurfing champion in freestyle explains, most competitive activity here is focused on waves and freestyle. "There are one or two Irish sailors racing in Britain and Europe, and the aim is to build up a young Irish team with these skills over the next six years," he says.
First stage in this involves hosting inaugural junior windsurfing championships, which will take place in Rusheen Bay on August 12 th. A series of regional races will be held next year, according to Cathal Kavanagh. Competitors finishing within the top ten of the fleet in their age groups will be recruited for advanced coaching, and support in training, nutrition and tactical aspects of competition.
The IWA intends to meet some of the equipment costs involved in all this, by purchasing a fleet of customised race boards and sails - and finding sponsors for same. The Rusheen Bay Windsurfing school, which has already been nominated an IWA centre of excellence, has bought the first of these boards - a "formula one" design nominated for youths and juniors in Europe.
Once a national junior team has been established by next year, the next challenge will be to meet the qualification criteria, Kavanagh points out. This involves a "top ten" finish in European championships," he says. After that, competitors are into full time commitment, involvement of a coach/team manager, and substantial assistance for travel to all European events (as in, parental bank accounts!).
Established in 1995, Rusheen Bay Windsurfing has trained eight of the current top 10 Irish windsurfers.