Windsurf · Pro era & decline
1990
Windsurfing moves indoors
At the Palais Omnisports in Bercy, Paris, a pool and a row of fans bring a windsurf competition into a sports hall for the first time.
20,000spectators
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, 5 and 6 March 1990
Fred Beauchêne, a windsurfer from La Baule, had the idea after sitting through a contest without wind: if the wind would not come, bring it indoors. He persuaded the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy to try it. A pool of about 90 by 40 metres was built in the arena and filled with some three million litres of water, and a row of large fans along the side made the wind.
The first indoor event was held on 5 and 6 March 1990 in front of about 20,000 spectators. Eric Thiémé of France won the slalom and the overall title, and Robby Naish won the jumping.
Bercy became a highlight of the French windsurfing calendar in the nineties, with Thiémé, Naish, Robert Teriitehau, Manolo Barlet and Nik Baker among the regular winners, and the show later toured other European cities. The Paris event left the tour in 1998 and has since returned, in 2004 and in 2016.