Foiling Week
Issue 9 / Tue 17th Aug, 2021
Set in the idyllic scenery of Lake Garda, Italy, Foiling Week brings together 5 foiling classes for an action packed 4 day weekend each year and 2021 was no different. Louka Pitot reports back on what went down.
Set in the idyllic scenery of Lake Garda, Italy, Foiling Week brings together 5 foiling classes for an action packed 4 day weekend each year and 2021 was no different. It’s fair to say that foiling is exploding in popularity and this event really showcases it in the best light. The 5 classes - Moth, Waszp, ETF26, Onefly and Wingfoil made for an exciting weekend of both racing and, in Wingfoiling’s case, freestyle.
Naish rider Louka Pitot, like many, has recently added wing foiling to his repertoire (he’s already an accomplished freestyle kitesurfer). He headed to Lake Garda for his first wingfoil event and fills us in on what went down.
Firstly, as a freestyler kitesurfer, I’ve never been to a lake to kite before, and that in itself is already something foiling has brought to my calendar - new locations.
Lake Garda has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ridden, with the amazing cliffs on the side and wind every day, it’s the perfect playground for a foiling event.
The foiling week was an amazing experience for me. No, not the results, but the experience. I once again met many riders that all come from different backgrounds, and if it wasn’t for winging, I wouldn’t have met such amazing athletes. We had light winds every day, from 6 to 12 knots, making the racing extremely difficult and technical, especially with smaller boards. It was really interesting for me to be at my first racing event. I really noticed that people take super good care of their foils, wash them and that the gear you ride makes an important difference on the speed you’ll be riding at. That said, you better know your foils and your quiver, aha.
In the racing, there was a real fight up ahead with the 2 Italians, Riccardo and Francesco, and the rest of us were all a bit further behind fighting. It was an amazing time on the water (when it was windy enough for all of us) - and it was really cool to see that the riders are so passionate about winging . Before the wind even picked up, all the gear was ready, and as soon as there was a few knots, some guys were already trying to fly.
The level in the freestyle comp was ridiculous. Some guys are throwing down air- 720’s already. The freestyle comp in itself was not as fun as the racing, as we had 7 minutes heats with 5 riders and unlimited attempts - and we’ve seen that this format isn’t the best. But hey, it’s a new sport, new disciplines - we still need to figure out what the best format will be, and then we’ll see some amazing stuff happening in the sport.
It’s so exciting to see how big of a dynamic there is around winging. The competition formats still have to be set - but it is what makes it exciting and fun.
Being part of the foiling week was an amazing experience. I’ll be back next year for sure, and have no doubt that the number of participants will have doubled or tripled, if not more.
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By Jack Galloway
