As the first half of Foiling Week is wrapping up, organizers look back at great racing in the Waszp, ETF26, 69F and IQFoil classes with their final day of racing taking place today. With more racing in the Moth, Wing and Flying Phantom classes starting tomorrow, the 2023 Foiling Week continues to offer fierce competition, lots of camaraderie and a lot of community efforts.
In the Waszp class HIPPOLYTE GRUET (FRA) gave away its solid lead to ETTORE BOTTICINI (ITA) after 4 bullets on the second race day, today BOTTICINI dominated and took first place. EMANUELE SAVOINI (ITA) ended in third place overall.
The French teams dominated the ETF26 class with ENTREPRISES DU MORBIHAN, sailed by Matthieu Salomon, Franck Cammas and Valentin Bellet with a significant lead over TEAMPRO with Jean Christophe Mourniac, Benjamin Amiot and Pierre Yves Durand onboard, with BLUESHIFT TEAM, raced by Charles Dorange, Henri Demesmaeker, Arnaud Vasseur and Rik Denys closing the top 3.
In the 69F class French team GROUP ATLANTIC SAILING, sailed by Clemont Cron, Valentin Spin, Jessica Berthoud and Louis Chambet came first, ahead of Swiss team KATANA SAILING raced by Alex de Weck, Jann Schupbach and Simone Salvá followed by the Finish team FIN1 RACING with Janne Jarvinen, Allan Norregaard and Iago Lopez.
IQFoil racing was concluded yesterday with the winners all from Italy. Under 19 male was won by Federico Alan Pilloni and female was won by Carola Colasanto. in the Under 17 Mattia Saoncella won the male class, and Sara Mangione the female one.
Foiling Week is not just a race, it's the first and unique global event dedicated to the amazingly fast foiling boats, their sailors, designers and manufacturers. The foiling community is well connected and provides a strong platform to support relevant social issues.
Each year it dedicates Foiling Week to support a specific cause and for the 10th anniversary edition of Foiling Week, The Magenta Project has been selected as the dedicated cause.
The Magenta Project is a collective of passionate people committed to developing pathways and generating opportunities for more equity and inclusion in sailing, leading with gender. They work with a wide range of individuals and organizations to make a positive and progressive impact on our sport, from grassroots initiatives to partnerships with international events and leagues.
In support of The Magenta Project's mission for a more equitable and inclusive sport, Foiling Week has been hosting a week full of programs for women to build more skills and confidence in performance foiling. Mentees and alumni from around the world traveled to Malcesine to go flying on the waters of Lake Garda.
The joint program at Foiling Week began with two days of 69F trails, as The Magenta Project aims to build their own competitive 69F team and create more pathways to the top of our sport in foiling. Additionally, the charity's group enjoyed "Try Foiling" on an entire fleet of foiling boats made available to them: WASZP, UFO, Befoil, Birdyfish and ETF.
Thursday night, a lakeside BBQ and silent auction was held to help raise funds and awareness for the international non-profit. Top sailing gear and experiences graciously provided by Foiling Week partners, such as Vakaros Atlas 2, Garmin Quatix 7, Torqeedo Engine, Starboard AirV2 wing foil set, Gottifredi Maffioli Splicing Kit, Secumar Furio Life Jacket, BIODESIGN Foundation experience on VO65 Team Austrian Ocean Racing, 69F Training Academy Day, Befoil16 Training Session, a sailing day with Cecilia Zorzi, HiNelson Kit and We are Foiling - SLAM Kit.
Throughout the weekend, Foiling Week will host a female coach's clinic, led by Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli AC Team and SUI SailGP Team Coach Jacopo Plazzi Marzotto.