Ashleigh Foulser A National powerboat champion with her eyes on the world prize.
Written and designed by Toby Gray
Ashleigh Foulser is a BU student studying Occupational Therapy, but she also lays claim to a rather impressive credential. She is a national powerboat champion and is beginning her preparations for the World Championships in Norway, where she hopes to compete in July. Ashleigh took the time out to chat to Nerve about her sport, and her quest to find sponsorship in order to represent the UK. Involved in boating since she was 12, Ashleigh was given the ultimate choice between a car or a boat on her 17th birthday, and after choosing the “sensible option”, she competed in her first competitive race just after her 18th birthday. And it didn’t take long for Ashleigh to pick up the winning habit. She was the national runner up in 2009, going one step better in 2010 before sharing the title with Neal Ives last season. Ashleigh admits there was no secret behind her success, but preparation was always key. “My dad taught me a lot in the 1st year about taking the racing line, so that helped. But we always made sure the boat was reliable, so mine tended to be the one that kept going after everyone else’s had broken down!” Ashleigh concedes the label of being the ‘best in Britain’ never really settles in, and despite being “exciting” it’s always been hard to explain. “When I first started, I told people ‘I’m at university, but I do a bit of powerboat racing at the weekend’. It’s a bit odd really!” Ashleigh’s season officially starts in April, which acts as a warm up to the national circuit. She will
then compete in the Beakhurst Memorial Race in May, an event which holds some bittersweet memories for her. “The first year I competed in that event, my dad managed to take me the wrong side of the finish line, where I was disqualified and stripped of the trophy! The next year, hoping to get the trophy back, I broke my leg before the race, so my dad stepped in and won the trophy with my boat.”
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If I can get there, it's definitely possibly to get a top 5 place.
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Not only that, but this year Ashleigh will be competing against her dad again, as well as her own boyfriend, but she remains focused on that number one spot. “There is a bit of competition to get it back this year but I’m definitely confident I can pick up the trophy! All of this will act as a build up to the summer, and the World Championships, where Ashleigh hopes to be in July. After being invited to represent the UK in Norway, she is hopeful of her chance of success. “I had a rough start to the World Championships last year -which were in England - as our bow tank disconnected from the boat, so it filled up with water in the 1st round. That shattered my chances of a top five place effectively. It would be amazing to go, and if I can get there this year, it’s definitely possible to get one.”
To travel to Norway, Ashleigh requires £3500 in sponsorship in order to fund her trip. Offering sponsorship on her teams’ boat and website team wear, she admits sponsorship is coming along slowly. “We really need companies to support us. Anything from £20 to put a sticker on the boat and a logo on the website will hopefully get us there, as long as enough people are willing to back us.” There have already been entries from Norway, Finland, Switzerland and the UK, and whilst “the catamarans out in Norway can reach up to 80mph and tend to have dominated for the last few years, we’re definitely aiming for a top five placing. Anything above that is great!” In fact, last year’s champions were from Guernsey, so there is always the opportunity for home bred success, an achievement Ashleigh longs to be part of. The World Championships provide the opportunity for Ashleigh to demonstrate her skills on a global level, yet as for her future in power boating, she remains realistic it will always remain a hobby, rather than something she could consider professionally. “Unfortunately, there’s not really a lot of money in power boating, but it will always be something I can do proudly in the background.” For more information on power boating, and Ashleigh’s preparations for the World Championships, visit www.crcracing.co.uk or email Ashleigh@crcracing.co.uk.