2020 looks to be a year of big changes for me! Of course, this change is not a sudden decision, but for many of you, it will be a total surprise: I am changing my sail numbers from TUR - 33 to GER - 33 .
TUR-33 = GER-33
For me the questions "Where are you from?" and "Where is your Home?" never had the simplicity they have for most people. In fact, most of the time I feel the need to give a rundown of my entire CV to be able to answer them semi-truthfully. Many of you probably just saw my Turkish Sail Numbers and me carrying my Turkish Flag on the Podium and automatically assumed that I am Turkish and of course you are 100% correct. However, I am also equal parts German. My mum is German and German is my Mothertongue. I was raised in Germany (Göttingen) and Belgium and graduated highschool with a European Bilingual (English and German) Baccalaureate in Brussels.
Last year, I moved back to Germany and made Hamburg my new home base, so the decision to start sailing for Germany is just a natural progression for me. Nationality has actually never been a big deal for me, but having a German passport has always felled like a big privilege especially in regards to visa allowances and traveling. Moving to Germany I realised there are almost no women competing in slalom or racing and so I wanted to help change this. My strategy is to lead by example and encourage girls to take part in my MyWindstories Windsurf Camps where I can teach and meet them one in one. I feel that changing to German sail numbers will also allow me to better push this project further.
Joining the NRV and their NRV Olympic Team
After having taken the decision to change to German numbers I started researching different sailing Clubs in Germany and quickly figured out which Club I wanted to join. My first choice was the NRV ( Norddeutscher Regatta Verein) located in my new home town Hamburg. It is easily Germany's most successful sailing Club and after having spent the weekend at the NRV with some of their top athletes I am extremely impressed by the professionalism and especially the interdisciplinary team spirit at this club. Thank you NRV for welcoming me with open arms. In fact, this is the second big news, since I have not just become an athlete of the club, but I also am extremely excited to announce that I have become a part of the NRV Olympic Team. Yes, you have heard right, OLYMPIC. It does indeed mean that I will be doing Olympic windsurfing for the first time in my windsurfing Career. With the introduction of foiling and the New iQFoil Equipment, I am super excited to start competing in this new discipline. With upwind downwind sailing tactics probably being one of my biggest learning areas I couldn't think of a better team to have surrounded myself with than the NRV Olympic team.
New Vlog Out Now: High Wind Slalom
On the way to Hamburg, I finally managed to edit and upload another Vlog from the training in Tenerife. It's been a great first month on Tenerife and I am really enjoying the training. All these big changes and finally being healthy again has given me a lot of extra motivation to push further and harder to achieve my goals. Check out some action in my latest Vlog.