Foilers of Aloha Classic

Issue 15 / Thu 23rd Feb, 2023

Articles
Issue 15
Foilers of Aloha Classic

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.

Armstrong Foils | View in Mag

CORE | View in Mag

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.)

Naish | View in Mag

Prolimit | View in Mag

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.

Armstrong Foils | View in Mag

AFS Foils | View in Mag

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.