DOUBLE TROUBLE! ‘THE MORENO SISTERS’

Born together on December the 1st 1977, Daida and Iballa Moreno have shared a rollercoaster ride through life, triggered when they first learned to windsurf back in 1995 on ‘’a broken board that someone was going to throw away’’. The rapid progression of these almost identical twins was unprecedented and within a few years they were ranked first and second in the women’s wave sailing rankings. The two Spanish beauties soon proved to be the most radical and talented female wave sailors on the planet and were snapped up by sponsors for their obvious marketing potential. Two decades down the line and they are both still dominating female windsurfing, despite a frightening brush with cancer for Daida and tough economic times for women on tour, even at the very top!

Words & Photos  John Carter

(This feature originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)
Here at the office we have always struggled to differentiate between the twins in terms of their looks and their incredible ability as sailors but as for their personalities, well those that know them best would say they are both very distinct characters. So how could we uncover their deepest differences ?, it was time to call an expert, someone who is known for bringing people to their knees in interviews, a verbal interrogator of the very highest intellectual, think Jeremy Paxman meets Larry King but with a touch of David Frost. Yes of course we are not talking about JC but we sent him anyway with strict instructions for no chocolate, no conferring and no passes. Read on and learn more about the most successful windsurfing sisters the world has ever seen.

JC: What is the best and the worst aspect about being a twin?

DAIDA: In windsurfing, there are many positive things. My sister helps to push my level higher, it’s like a mirror effect. Also you never get to travel alone with your sister around which is pretty handy! On the flip side is people who do not know us think we have the same personality!

IBALLA: The best is growing up with a sister beside you, doing the same things since we were babies, I think that is very special! We spent our childhood together enjoying the same sports which has made us become great athletes. I think it has been amazing to have both of us successful in what we love the most. The worst is when people get us confused and they don’t know which one of us they are talking to. Sometimes they don’t believe that they are talking to the wrong person! I feel bad and it can be embarrassing. I even have to show my ID to prove it! The other negative part of being Twins is that people think we are the same and that we come as
a package!

JC: What is the one key feature for anyone in doubt to tell you apart?

DAIDA: I think we are really different, so I don’t think many people cannot tell us apart nowadays. I guess the easiest thing is to see that I am 10 kilos heavier!

IBALLA: Our voices are different and also the shape of our faces, mine is narrower. We also have very different expressions too. I used to have a pierced tongue but not for a long time now. I do have one more tattoo that Daida doesn’t have, but it is in a hard place to find, hee hee!

JC: You are sisters, friends and confidents on land, however in the water…

DAIDA: in the water we are competitors and we always try to sail the best we know. Iballa is a tough opponent and very hard to beat.

IBALLA: both of us work hard, and if it is possible to win, all the better!

JC: How important is social media these days to promote yourselves?

DAIDA: I personally think it’s extremely important but you need to know how to manage it and be professional with content. You have to constantly publish fresh news and images to keep your followers interested.

IBALLA: It is really important. It brings us close to our fans all over the world and I love to interact with them. The internet allows us to communicate with lots of interesting people. The good thing is that all our followers are windsurfers that love what we do and we get to show them our lifestyle from all angles.

“ We started windsurfing with a broken board that someone was going to throw away ’’ – DAIDA

JC: How has the windsurfing business changed since you were first sponsored back in the nineties?

DAIDA: We were sponsored for the first time back in 1998. The level of money and equipment offered has clearly declined especially from within the windsurf industry. I think our best years were around 2007-8 and since then the money has been in decline. For a girl today, it is really difficult to live out of windsurfing. I think the top 20th male windsurfer would probably receive more money than any of the top 3 female windsurfers.

IBALLA: Do we need to talk about this? All our sponsors are the best sponsors in the world! But it is true that things have changed to a lot worse and it’s a pity to see how many good athletes cannot afford to do the whole tour because of the lack of money.

JC: Why is it so tough for girls of your talent and obvious marketing potential to score big sponsorship deals in windsurfing?

DAIDA: Girls work really hard on their marketing. Somehow the windsurfing industry and customers always compare females with the male windsurfing level. I believe it’s really unfair! Women will never have such a high level as it’s physically impossible. What girls need is a bigger chance to be able to travel and to be correctly equipped to train. Unfortunately for us windsurfing is still really male focussed. Windsurfing is also still far behind any other sports on TV, we need the sport to be featured more often in TV channels. From this we will have more outside industry sponsors interested in promoting windsurfing.

IBALLA: I would like to get to that point. Not sure how we can change the mentality of the industry and let them know we not only “sell equipment” to women. We are a great image for all genders and windsurfing in general. We not only win contests but work really hard all year to promote the sport, ourselves and our sponsors! You need to be very creative nowadays to be always at the top of the list for sponsors ! I don’t think many riders are getting a big deal in windsurfing except probably Philip Köster who is fortunate to have outside industry sponsors who support him very well. Lucky for him! Meanwhile we keep fighting every day to change things and reach outside industry sponsors and get them more interested in the sport of windsurfing. We are happy to announce our latest contract with ANFI. They are a company from the Canary Islands specializing in luxury and lifelong vacation resorts in the south of Gran Canaria. They believe in the “Moreno twins” and support us by using our image together with David Silva (Manchester City) and Alberto Contador (cycling). We need more companies like them to keep growing our sport but also it is beneficial for ANFI to promote in our market….it’s a perfect deal. You can see more of what they do at www.anfi.com

JC: Is windsurfing male dominated?

DAIDA: There is still a long way to go but Women are realizing their potential. We do not have men’s physical strength; however we have other characteristics that make us special in and out of the water. I hope and desire that soon we are more women enjoying windsurfing.

IBALLA: Sports in general has always been chauvinist in this sense. Gradually women have been specializing themselves in different sports and improving to the point of being better than many men. Physical strength is important and helps in the practice of every sport, but women have the facility to learn things faster than men as we use more technique.  We are in one way fighting against stereotypes, encouraging women to practice sport, especially windsurfing, which is an incredible and beautiful sport.

JC: Would you like to compete against the guys in Pozo?

DAIDA: It’s not in my plans, I have too many things to do and organize during the event!

IBALLA: No, I think it is right to have girls and mens divisions. I would love to improve and give more incentives to women’s windsurfing. So I think it’s time for us to make some changes in some aspects for the women at the next PWA in Gran Canaria. At the moment we are fighting to make
a change!

JC: What can be done to improve and boost the image of
women’s windsurfing? 

DAIDA: TV is a major must for windsurfing in general and then we need the industry to invest more into women to help them be able to train and raise their level.

IBALLA: Women need the help of the industry and of course the media. Magazines also need to give more push to women. Thanks for the interview Windsurf !

JC: Have you ever been jealous of your sister when she has won and you have been second? 

DAIDA: It is the other way around, I know the feeling of winning many times and I also know what it is like to be second. When Iballa won this year, it was because she was more consistent with her results. She has deserved all the times she became World Champion. I personally don’t take second places as a losing position! It helps motivate me more to become even better and to share two first places with our friends and family is great.

IBALLA: No! I am always proud to be second and proud to see Daida win.

JC: Do you think you intimidate the other girls on tour?

DAIDA: I can imagine they are tired of seeing us always on the top. All I can say is that we hope they get more motivated to become better sailors and raise their level. We have offered many times to help them and to come to Canary Islands to train with us.

IBALLA: Not sure…maybe?  During a contest we all get pretty stressed and nervous, but I think in general all the girls have respect of each other while we do our job.

JC: Have you plans to move into coaching?

DAIDA: We have done so in the past with training camps for women and children (in Fuerteventura, Tenerife and Gran Canaria). Additionally we also organize clinics for sailors from all over the world in Pozo Izquierdo with our Moreno Twins Club. Nevertheless, we would love to continue together with the Gran Canaria Wind Bay Centre in Bahía de Formas to try and bring other groups, women and children, to learn our beautiful sport

IBALLA: We have always made clinics for women and children and we love to introduce other people to our sport. I am still in the phase of training myself in order to continue improving. Nevertheless, who knows, perhaps one day I will dedicate myself to training others.

JC: How did you enjoy going to Maui for the Aloha Classic?

DAIDA: This year my head was not in Maui. First of all, there was only three weeks’ notice when the PWA confirmed the event after Sylt. I started my 4th and last year at University (Physiotherapy degree) and I had to leave everything to go there. Hawaii was not even in my economic plans but I was forced to go there after four years without training on starboard tack conditions. In addition, this year (from January until May 2014) I was off the water for 5 months due to a nasty foot injury. After my result I got really sick with flu from all the emotions and everything but now that I am home I look back and I see how lucky I was finishing 2nd overall with such a bad result in Maui.

IBALLA: It was tough. A last minute notice of race meant I had to miss some SUP contests, but the effort was worth it! I did enjoy my time in Maui a lot, sailing and of course winning! It was a dream come true to win there again without even having the chance to practice Starboard tack conditions much the whole year. For next season I hope we have a clear calendar from the word go, so we can train hard for all the events.

JC: Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?

DAIDA: I will finish my physiotherapy degree in just a few months, so I see myself working to help people have better and healthy lives and readapt them to their daily activities if possible.

IBALLA: Sailing, SUP’ing, Surfing and living in Fuerteventura!

JC: How does it feel to be on the other side of the fence as event organizers of Pozo after competing all those years? 

DAIDA: People cannot imagine how hard it is to study, train, organize events and compete. Sometimes I think “What am I doing?”, after all I went through fighting with cancer, it is almost too much stress for my body! It is really hard to balance everything, but we have a great team so during the dates of the event we can focus only on competing. Hardest part of being an organizer is always nine months prior to the event, when we start working to do more things with even smaller budgets!

IBALLA: I definitely see things from a different perspective. But it is clear for me to say that if you really want an event to happen, you can do it. It’s a lot of work behind the scenes! But I think we gave an extra push to the event in GC and we now have a good reputation world wide.

JC: What has been the highlight of your career to date?

DAIDA: The highlight of my career to date is winning my battle with cancer and being able to continue with the sport that I love.

IBALLA: I think this year has been very good for me. Winning the Aloha Classic, The PWA Tour and also, without doing all the events on tour, I managed to finish 4th in the SUWT (Stand Up World Tour), also 4th at the ISA SUP World Championships, Vice European SUP Surfing Champion and Spanish SUP Champion, 2013 was a similar year! So I think these last two years have been a great challenge for me and I am happy I was able to do this proving we are not retiring and are stronger than ever.

JC: Have you both ever had a big argument?

DAIDA: Like all brothers and sisters do in this world… We are two different people and we think differently about many aspects of life, sometimes it’s just a question of accepting each other.

IBALLA: We are sisters, twins, yes we argue but normal things! I guess it is what you expect after doing the same thing all our lives!

JC: Have you ever played twin style tricks on people or boyfriends in the past? 

DAIDA: We did a few times at school ‘hee hee’, but nothing too serious! Iballa wanted me to do her driver’s licence exam, but I couldn’t do it, I was too scared !

IBALLA: Yes, the typical jokes! But I always promised to show my ID before anything happened! Once we exchanged boyfriends as a joke that was funny. Also in school we played a few tricks, the teachers didn’t know we were the other twin and the whole class did, our classmates were laughing all the time.

JC: What aspects of your sailing are you happy with and what parts would you like to improve?

DAIDA: I am improving my wave sailing now, doing tricks such as backside and front side 360, takas and trying to improve my goiters. My timing is getting there, but I still need to learn on starboard tack conditions much more. When I finish university I would love to travel for a few months and go to places that I have never experienced before like South Africa or Australia.

IBALLA: I am happy with my overall sailing, both on port tack and starboard tack. I would still like to improve my tricks on the waves of course. Also in my jumping, I have goals to improve, that’s what keeps me motivated and makes me want to go sailing every day!

JC: Describe a perfect windsurfing day

DAIDA: 4.2 Severne Blade, 74 L. Starboard Quad, head high, side-onshore.

IBALLA: Starboard 69 L. quad and 4.2 or 4.5 Severne Blade, side off, logo to mast high (if bigger no problem!) and down the line perfect air sections with clean waves! Four to five of us sailing and a beer in the afternoon with friends after the session.

JC: Talk us briefly through a typical day in your life?

DAIDA: My life right now is a bit complex, but I normally wake up at 7 am, then work for one hour with the computer. Then it is breakfast and go to do my physiotherapy practice from 9 am to 1pm. Return home, go sailing for an hour and a half (or some sports in case there is no wind), shower, lunch and back to Physio practice from 4pm until 8 pm.

IBALLA: The last two seasons have been pretty crazy. Lots of travelling and challenges. But a normal day will be waking up early, around 8am, have breakfast while checking my emails and go to the beach for whatever the sea can bring us: Windsurf, SUP or surf…anything! I love to surf so if there are waves I am happy! If it is a flat water day I train on my bike, SUP race or do cross training.

JC: Why do you love windsurfing?

DAIDA: It is really hard to explain if you don’t windsurf. Windsurfing keeps my heart alive and it helps to clean my soul. I dream about windsurfing every day!

IBALLA: Because it is the sport that helped me grow as a person and as an athlete. I love that it is always related to the sea, the wind and the waves. It was always my dream since I was really young to become a professional windsurfer and at the moment I am lucky to say that I am living my dream.

JC: Are you more comfortable in the water than on land ?

DAIDA: Definitively, there are days when it is better to disappear on the high seas, leave the stress and daily problems behind and enjoy the freedom and sensations that you only get from the wind and the sea.

IBALLA: The sea has given me everything. I feel better and more comfortable in the water, that is a reality.

JC: Do you remember your first time windsurfing?

DAIDA: (Laughter) I remember perfectly the first time I tried to windsurf and it was very frustrating. I thought I would be better at it, that it was going to be much easier. We didn’t have anyone to tell us what to do. We started windsurfing with a broken board that someone was going to throw away, that was the moment that we started the adventure of our lives. We learned from many falls and hits. Today everything is easier, you can learn in the proper school, with qualified teachers and the appropriate materials which are light and safe. Even so, I would never change my experience.

IBALLA: Of course I remember. Since we were very young our father put us in the sea. Then we just evolved to bodyboards, later the surf board and finally windsurfing.  Every sport gave us different sensations but all had something in common: the sea.

JC: Did you ever imagine that that day was going to be the start of an incredible career?

DAIDA: I started sailing one year before starting university. In the second year of my course (MBA) I decided to dedicate myself 100% to windsurfing. Obviously I never imagined that I would get so far, we just simply took advantage of the opportunities that life gave us. I am currently finishing my degree in Physiotherapy and sailing in the afternoons. If I look back I will live every single day in the same way that I have lived until today.

IBALLA: I remember the day that I came back from the university and told my parents….Daida also decided the same thing. We were lucky that our parents supported us in that decision and it is something that I will never regret. It was a shame that at the time the teachers did not support sportsmen/sportswomen as they do today (it seems that they help more nowadays) as I had to leave University to face the University of Life.

JC : You have been competing at the highest level for years, don’t you get bored?

DAIDA:  I have always said that top-level competition has its good and bad sides. The ideal world would be to live from windsurfing, without having to compete, avoiding many expenses such as economic, physical or psychic…even doctors say that high level competitions are counterproductive to one’s health. The problem is that if you do not compete you won’t have the publicity and in turn, the support of your sponsors; so it is a vicious circle. To date we are achieving our goals, we compete and can still afford to travel and enjoy our work, our office is located in the sea, how could you be bored ?

IBALLA: In order to be at the top you have to focus on challenges and targets at short and long terms. There are always ups and downs but you always have to move forward. There are still many places to discover and to visit. The competitions are a very important part of this sport, however, it is not the only way to move forward.

JC: How do you combine top-level competition with an ordinary lifestyle?

DAIDA: I have always believed the lifestyle of top-level sportsmen/sportswomen is very complicated even if people always tend to think differently. Windsurfing requires a lot of work and effort, there are days that I just simply do not know how I have got through them, and other days that I can’t even say what day of the week it is. I try to organize myself between university, physio practice, training and my job. Without doubt, the best moment of the day is when I put on my wetsuit and I get into the water.

IBALLA: Competition is a small part, although very important one of our lifestyle as sportswomen. The rest of the time that we are not competing we are training and looking for new targets. That is my ordinary lifestyle. Always looking at aiming for new challenges, training and enjoying what we do.

JC: Who are your biggest rivals and why?

DAIDA: Myself, because when I think negative thoughts my head does not work properly !. It is up to me to walk away from those thoughts and be positive and to always have fun in the water.

IBALLA: I guess Daida is my biggest rival and at the same time my biggest supporter. There are lots of girls coming in the waves who are very strong and motivated and it is the same in the other disciplines so it is great to see that!

JC: You are stranded on a desert island, you can have three people aside from your sister, three personal items, one board, one sail, one book, one movie and one TV series to watch…make your choices!

DAIDA: My boyfriend, my friends Tamara and David. Shower gel, sunscreen and sunglasses. Board and sail, the 79 L. Starboard Quad and a 4.7 Severne Blade! My book would be Black Beauty, Movie Invincible and TV series Game of Thrones!

IBALLA: Stefan Etienne, Nicole Boronat and Scott McKercher. A 69 L. Starboard Quad and 4.7 Severne Blade. My three items would be a SUP (with paddle) or surf board, a survival guide and sunglasses, my
book – 50 shades of grey, the latest movie from Angelina Jolie and TV series Homeland!

JC: Who has inspired you in your life and why?

DAIDA: My mum, she was a true fighter in life. She raised five kids with almost no money and always with a big smile on her face.

IBALLA: Daida; for the way she fights for things in life.

JC: What makes you angry?

DAIDA: People who have opinions about me without ever having a conversation with me!

IBALLA: People´s hate!

JC: What do you worry about, and why?

DAIDA: I worry about my family, friends and their health. Without health, we won’t have a good life!

IBALLA: I worry about hurting other people!

JC: What do you consider about your personality your best and worst quality?

DAIDA: Best thing is I am constant with my goals. Worse thing, I am straight forward.

IBALLA: My best is that I am intelligent and I always find a way to keep following my path. My worst, sometimes I am too sensitive.

JC: What is your most visited web site?

DAIDA: www.morenotwins.com

IBALLA: facebook.com

JC: Three words to describe yourself?  

DAIDA: Worker, dreamer and consistent.

IBALLA: Clever, a good sportswomen and humble!

JC: Who is the most mischievous out of the Twins?

DAIDA: We haven’t been so mischievous since we were little girls but I guess I was pretty bad when we were younger!

IBALLA: I think we both have our days!

JC: Which of you was the first to learn a forward loop?

DAIDA: I think it was me, we were both sharing the same board and sail though and we both did it the same day!

IBALLA: I tried the first time without success, then Daida did it after we swopped our harness; we were sharing the equipment! But later that same day I did it too!

JC: Who was born first?

DAIDA: Yep that was me!

IBALLA: Daida has always been my elder sister ha ha

JC: Who was the brightest at school?

DAIDA: We were both about the same in class!

IBALLA: Daida!!!

JC: Who had the first boyfriend?

DAIDA: Yep that was me, I was the first!

IBALLA: Daida ha ha ha ha!

JC: Finally, you have achieved a lot, who else has helped you ?

DAIDA: Without a doubt, our family. They have been a great support in our fight to maintain our position at the top of our sport. Thanks to family, friends and sponsors we can continue with our dream. We currently count on sponsorships from the Anfi Group, VW Comerciales, Starboard, Severne, Maui Ultra Fins, Heliocare.

IBALLA: To my parents, to allow us to make our dream come true when we were still young. They made things easier. Also thanks to our brothers and sisters for bearing with us and of course, as Daida says, thanks to our sponsors; without them we would not be who we are.

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