This surf foil event in Kauai happened to coincide with all time conditions. The results were spectacular.

Well, what can I say. Back in November, our feeds were graced with perhaps the most viral  day of foiling yet to exist. Foil Fever put on a stellar surf foil event in Kauai that happened to  coincide with all-time conditions. The result was quite simply mind blowing. Huge sets,  barrels, big crashes, double up waves, and a level of riding we’d not yet seen. It had me  transfixed, and I was on the other side of the world. I could only imagine what it would have  been like to be there. That’s why I immediately got in touch with event organiser Jason  Tangalin to get the low down.

You must be super stoked about the attention the event got and all the epic footage. 

I am beyond stoked. We had epic conditions, incredibly talented foilers competing, an amazing  location, and the love and support of the Kauai community. We also had a great group of  sponsors, including a few foil companies. The Foil Fever Ohana dedicated so much work to this  contest, and it was so rewarding to get everyone together, competing intensely, sharing the good  vibes of foiling, talking story. It was a pretty magical event. 

This is your second event now, what inspired you to get it started? 

Foiling has given us so much… for me, I wanted to give back to the sport that gave me new life.  So the Foil Fever Ohana is all about giving a good name to foiling and our foiling community.  We started out by finding ways to give back, like putting on beach clean-ups and supporting local  causes. Running contests is the next level for us. Contests help us share the ALOHA and spread  the word on foiling safety. We held our usual beach cleanup at the 2022 Kauai Classic, and the  event supported Mothers in Need and Nā Maka Onaona. 

Also, the momentum of foiling stoke is super inspiring; we had around 70 foilers competing at  our event, almost double the number from the first Foilers of Aloha Classic in Kauai, back in  2019. (We missed out on running the contest in 2020 & ’21 due to the virus restrictions, so those  years we held a Foil Fever donation drive for Mothers in Need.) With the progression of  everyone’s foiling skills, new techniques, and improving gear quality, we can’t wait to see what  our competitors bring to upcoming events. 

Love that you're giving back to the community too. What rules did you come up with for  the event? 

The key rules were that we had a maximum of two connected waves to count as one ride; initial  inside position has right-of-way for the entire ride; no straps; leash required. 

What was the reason behind the 2-for-1 wave max?

As foilers, it’s possible to pump to as many waves as we want. But that would make it very  difficult for the judges, and we wanted to level the field and make sure scoring rewarded ripping  on waves rather than making the most connections. The judges looked for progression in foiling  manoeuvres. There are foilers out there that can score just as high on one wave compared to a  foiler that can pump to the second wave; connection and progression on two waves gives  everyone the chance to show their stuff. 

What were the categories for competition? 

Men Prone; SUP; Women; Groms (under 14 yrs.); Seniors/Kapuna (Over 60 yrs.) 

Did you have an event window depending on the conditions or did you have a set weekend  and just get lucky with insane conditions..?! 

We have a set date at Kalapaki Bay, Kauai, always falling in late November, the weekend after  Thanksgiving. And yes, we’ve been lucky with insane conditions in 2019 and 2022! 

How many judges did you have & who were they? 

We had a total of 7 judges: 1 head judge, 3 judges, and 3 spotters. All our judges are experienced  watermen and avid foilers that represented all the islands of Hawaii. 

The scoring criteria must’ve taken some serious thought! What was the points system and  how did you come up with it? 

Our Kauai Ohana came together to discuss the rules in 2019. It wasn’t easy; we all had different  views on how a foil contest should be run. But in the end, we agreed that competitors could  connect 2 waves for a single wave score. Scoring was based on commitment, degree of difficulty,  variety, and combination of manoeuvres, with progression being key. The maximum score per  wave was 10 points. Same for SUP foiling, with the addition of rewarding functional use of the  paddle to increase the intensity of manoeuvres. 

We heard there was a cool atmosphere on the beach. What was it like for the spectators? 

The atmosphere was as intense as the conditions because the foiling was incredible. The crowd  was cheering and gasping as our competitors ripped it up, so the vibe was the best I’d seen at a  contest. A lot of spectators came down to see this amazing event go down. This sport is still  fairly new, so it was so awesome that we got to blow the minds of locals and tourists on Kauai  and show what some of the best in the world can do.  

Was Mateo El the only competitor doing both SUP & prone? Must’ve had his work cut out  timing-wise… 

Mateo definitely rocked it, and we actually had a bunch of foilers doing more than one  category. The conditions and the waves were so good that I’m sure everyone there would’ve  foiled more categories if there had been more openings. 

That's impressive. How do you see the event shaping out in the future? 

The Foilers of Aloha Classic on Kauai pretty much sets the standard for how we want to share  the ALOHA of foiling and spread the word on foiling safety. We would love to see this event  grow, and we are thinking about how that might happen. This event is personal to us because the  Foil Fever Ohana is originally from Kauai. The foil community is amazing there. The local  businesses are so welcoming and give us a hand with anything we need. We are so grateful for  our sponsors and the growing interest in this contest. Thanks, Jack, for sharing our contest with  the Tonic audience. 

Do you think we’ll ever see a world tour like the WSL in foiling? Perhaps not on the same  scale of course! 

I would love to have a world tour for foiling and I definitely think it’s possible because  worldwide interest in foiling is exploding. At the moment we’re planning our 2023 Foilers of  Aloha Tour Schedule. We are bringing events for all categories this year: Foil Surf, Wing Surf,  Wing Race, Downwind Race, and Wake Foiling. 

Here’s what’s happening: July 14-16, 2023 - Foilers Of Aloha Tennessee - Wake Foiling contest;  Nov 25-26, 2023 - Foilers Of Aloha Kauai - Foil Surf, Wing Race, DW Race. We are considering the following events for 2023: Foilers Of Aloha Maui -Wing Surf Foil  Contest; Foilers Of Aloha Oahu - Foil Surf; Foilers Of Aloha Puerto Rico - Wing Race, Foil Surf;  Foilers Of Aloha California - Foil Surf 

Foilers of Aloha Ohana is a group of hard-working foilers that are stoked to organise foiling  contests. We welcome anyone who would love to help fund our events and/or lend a helping  hand. 

Wow, exciting times ahead! Thanks for chatting with us, Jason 

Results

Men:  

  1. Jack Ho  
  2. Mateo Ell  
  3. JD Irons  

SUP:

  1. Mateo Ell  
  2. Dane Mcbride  3- Nick Bennett  

Women:  

  1. Glennel Jordan 
  2. Gabriella Bella 
  3. Emma Yuen  

Groms:  

  1. Kaden Pritchard 
  2. Kahala Sodaro 
  3. Kingston Palakiko  

Seniors:  

  1. Jojo Ponce  
  2. Alex Aguera  
  3. Roy Lundstedt

Videos

By Jack Galloway

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