Wind foiling is the new competition surfing!
Despite the fact that wind foiling only really broke through in 2018, it has drastically changed the windsurfing world. In the meantime, almost all competition surfers have switched to wind foiling. It goes much faster, wind foils run much higher on the wind and you can get much more spacious from the wind. Ideal for race discipline. This has helped ensure that wind foiling is the new Olympic format from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Wind foiling is spectacular with little wind and also with a lot of wind. For this reason, there is plenty of experimentation at the various levels with different types of courses, lengths of the courses and new forms of elimination to make wind foiling attractive to the largest possible audience. It is far from crystallized, but 1 thing is for sure the wind foiling has definitely changed the competition surfing.
Windfoil upwind & downwind faster than formulaboard
From their own experience and also those of other wind foilers it can be argued that a good high end wind foil upwind is faster than a formula board and can also sail just 10 degrees higher on the wind. In addition, a wind foil can easily maintain the upwind course in a windhole. Downwind can put a wind foil much deeper than a formulaboard. It is possible to completely foil wind with about 14-16 knots. This is less than the spacious course of a formulaboard, but tactically, the distance to be done in a downwind rak can be an advantage.
As with formula windsurfing with more wind, a half-wind course with more wind is not really pleasant on a wind foil. A mid-weather slalom board is from a knot or 16 (still) really faster on this course.
IQfoil the new one design class for adults and youth
Since it was decided that IQfoil is the new Olympic format, this competition unit class is very popular. At the World Championships in Silvaplana, more than 250 participants participated. It has given competitive windsurfing a huge boost. As a spin-off, Starboard/Severne has also launched a new youth unit class; Iqfoil class Youth and Junior. The material is clearly derived from the Olympic material, but is cheaper and more accessible for the youth, but also certainly for the more recreational wind foils. In 2021, the very first Iqfoil Youth World Championships was foiled on Lake Garda with more than 270 participants. It is expected that this class will become much larger in the coming years and at the expense of the traditional Bic Techo class.
Do you want to know more about the IQfoil equipment or do you want to purchase it? Then view the overview of the sets and individual components in the article about the IQfoil one design class
World Championships IQfoil Silvaplana 2021
World Championships IQfoil youth Lake Garda 2021
Windfoil also competitive on downwind slalom course
The wind foil has also acquired its place in the PWA. During the 1st PWA competition of 2021 in Israel it turned out that even with a lot of wind the wind foil is very competitive. The profit is mainly in the hijacks and wind dips where the wind foil manages to maintain much more speed. This ensures that the speed is on average relatively more stable than that of a traditional board with a fin.
Until 2020 there was a separate wind foil classification, but from 2021 this has been released and it is up to the riders to decide whether they want to slam on the fin or on the foil.
One thing is for sure, this is just the beginning! The wings are getting smaller and smaller, the sails more and more attuned to the slalom discipline with a lot of wind. It will not surprise us if within now and 2 years to wind force 6 the wind foil the wind of the fin in the PWA!