Who Are The Watersports Centre?

WHO ARE THE WATERSPORTS CENTRE?

A story we are so proud to tell, thank you for being the biggest part of our journey.

WHO ARE THE WATERSPORTS CENTRE?

A story we are so proud to tell, thank you for being the biggest part of our journey.

The Watersports Centre is a family-run business, founded in 2021 by father and son Tim and George Dufty. Born out of a shared love of the water, they set out to build something that pairs honest, genuine advice with the market's leading products across kitesurfing, wingfoiling and foiling. Alongside an excellent range of neoprene, from wetsuits to impact vests and everything in between.

Behind it sits George's 10 year professional kitesurfing career, which led to multiple titles; many years of running their kiteschool, and countless hours chasing the next epic session in their own time. Everything we have learnt along the way led to The Watersports Centre, a watersports specialist both in store and online, where every conversation is grounded in real experience and every recommendation comes from people who genuinely care about getting you on the right kit.

Our Story

2009 - Where It All Began...

It all started with a twelve-year-old George Dufty, who desperately wanted kitesurfing lessons for his thirteenth birthday. His parents Tim and Sarah, had no idea what kitesurfing even was, but they did their best to make their son's birthday one to remember!

George was instantly hooked. After first trying land boarding, he knew the ocean was where he wanted to be, and an instinctive pull to kitesurfing took hold from that very first session. By 2010, Tim decided he wanted to learn to kitesurf too, and the best part? George taught him. Definitely not something we'd recommend these days, but a great story to tell.

13year old started to shred hard quickly! Tim would be by George’s side from the beginning, taking him to the beach before and after school at every opportunity.

2011 — Turning passion into a future career

Within a few years of learning to kitesurf, George was committed to making it a career. He was only fifteen years old. Totally drawn to progressing, he began entering British Freestyle competitions, with Tim and Sarah always there to support him.

2013 — The year of taking leaps of faith

At sixteen, George made a huge decision: to leave college after just three months and pursue a professional kitesurfing career. With sponsorship from Liquid Force and his amazing parents behind him every step of the way.

It was a year of leaps of faith all round. Tim and Sarah bought the very kiteschool that had sparked George's passion back in 2009. Tim qualified as a senior instructor, George added his BKSA qualification to his existing IKO, and Sarah took on the day-to-day running of the school.

A true family effort, powered by a shared love of kitesurfing and the pull of the ocean.

2014-2018 — Building the foundations

These were the years that built our future. The shop wasn't on the horizon yet, but the experience, knowledge, and expertise that would one day make it possible were all being built. The school was booming, with six instructors teaching almost daily and the doors open every day of the year bar Christmas Day.

George was now a full-time professional kitesurfer, training in Brazil, Cape Town and Australia through the winters.Returning to compete and coach back in the UK each summer. Tim, now a retired lawyer was running the kiteschool full time, teaching hundreds to kitesurf every year. By 2018, George had taken the Under-21s European Freestyle title years before and won his third British Championship, a record no one else has matched to this day.

2020 - A new direction

Moving into 2020, the world felt like a very different place. The kiteschool was still thriving, but a pull began to take hold. A sense that we could be more involved in guiding people through their buying experience, not just their first lessons. For a few years already, we'd been selling kite packages to clients once they'd finished learning. Through that, we realised our years of teaching and coaching had given us something valuable to offer which was honest, reliable advice grounded in real experience on the water.

Early 2021 - The Watersports Centre was born!

Those mad Covid days were in full swing. Wearing masks was considered normal, and "bubbles" were no longer the air leaving your nose as you duck under a wave but the personal group of people you were allowed to see. With the kiteschool unable to run, it felt like the right time to create the shop we'd been excited about. The name was already waiting. George had bought the domain for The Watersports Centre back in 2019, with a small inkling that one day this might be the ambition.

We gave ourselves a month to turn a simple shed on an old boat yard into the shop. After starting with no more than a shell of a building, and an oil stained concrete floor we got to work!

After weeks of early starts and Chinese takeaways at 8pm fuelling us before getting stuck back in, things were starting to take shape. The ceiling was up, the wood-clad walls were complete, the flooring was down, and it really was beginning to feel like a proper little watersports shop!

Emily joined the team around this time, and is still with us today, working across visual marketing and all things creative. She quickly got stuck into the branding and visual identity for The Watersports Centre, ready for launch.

June 2021 - The Watersports Centre was complete!

It definitely took longer than the month we'd planned for, but by June we were ready to open our doors officially. This will forever be the chapter we look back on with so much love. It was truly when everything changed, thanks to the friends, family and incredible kite instructors who made it possible. It was time to make The Watersports Centre a success. What we didn't realise yet, was that the fun was only just beginning...

2022 - We were in full swing

These were the years we learnt what hard work truly was. George, Tim, and Emily were working 7 days a week, driven by the belief that The Watersports Centre could become the special business we knew it could be.

2024 - Time for growth

We had now been running The Watersports Centre for almost four years, and we were still absolutely loving what we were doing. Everything was going from strength to strength, but we were beginning to outgrow our beloved little shop on the old boat yard. By this point we were renting eight of the ten sheds on site, every one of them full to the brim with stock, packing equipment, kite spares, old wetsuits, and all the bits and pieces it takes to run a shop!

With unbelievable timing, the most incredible opportunity arose. A local warehouse came up for rent on a seriously desirable industrial estate, a stone's throw from Lee-on-Solent beach. It was a huge jump, almost bigger than we really wanted, but we thought we should at least go and see it. As soon as we viewed the property we got goose bumps. Yes, it was a huge leap of faith, but that is what we do best. No one ever imagined a shed could become what we had created, and we were ready to prove it could happen all over again on a bigger scale.

By December 2024 we were packing up our old premises, ready for an amazing new chapter of our adventure with The Watersports Centre to begin.

2025- TWC 2.0 was born!

We hit the ground running in January 2025. By March 2025 we were had racked out the entire warehouse, set up our temporary office space in the front and got to work ready to smash the season ahead.

The season on parawings + rennovations!

By May 2025, the season was in full swing, and it was all about parawinging, the newest sport to completely hook us. Between the day to day running of the business, George learnt to parawing and fell in love with it, and the Solent turned out to be the perfect playground for this exciting new sport.

The season brought some wonderful moments: new faces discovering us in the shop for the first time now that we were in a more commercial location, plenty of conversations about how we could keep pushing TWC forward, and some truly amazing sessions on the water. By late September, we had set our sights on the next project, building an office out in the warehouse, which would free up the front section to become a proper shop floor for all the latest gear.

2026 - Where will the adventure go next?

2026 has been an epic ride so far. The office is finished and is our hub of activity daily, ensuring we offer the best buying experience possible. We have been working on the website you're on right now since early January 2026, and we are so stoked with the result. We cannot thank you enough for your support so far.

It still just feels like the beginning of what is possible. From that twelve year old George with a dream, we sure have come far.

The next step is making sure we are the best watersports shop on the south coast and beyond, and we will continue to work hard every day to make that a reality. For now, we have one major job left, and that is to make our instore experience as epic as possible. Think watersports heaven: kites, wings, foils, wetsuits, all in a friendly and warm environment, ready to support and guide you with the honest and genuine knowledge that has got us to this point.

WHO ARE THE WATERSPORTS CENTRE?

WHO ARE THE WATERSPORTS CENTRE?

Our Story

2009 - Where It All Began...

13year old started to shred hard quickly! Tim would be by George’s side from the beginning, taking him to the beach before and after school at every opportunity.

2011 — Turning passion into a future career

2013 — The year of taking leaps of faith

2014-2018 — Building the foundations

2020 - A new direction

Early 2021 - The Watersports Centre was born!

June 2021 - The Watersports Centre was complete!

2022 - We were in full swing

2024 - Time for growth

2025- TWC 2.0 was born!

The season on parawings + rennovations!

2026 - Where will the adventure go next?

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