Foiling Week, 22–29 June: a stellar edition set to launch

Foiling Week returns to Europe for its 12th edition, taking place in the last week of June, after its first-ever event in Pensacola, Florida, earlier this March.

Five classes will compete: Moth, WASZP, Switch One Design, BirdyFish, and ETF26. Together with foiling boards and other activities, over 400 participants are expected just a couple of weeks before the start.

With the Moth World Championship scheduled at Fraglia Vela Malcesine from July 7th, this year’s Foiling Week will feature an exceptional line-up. Olympic medallists, America's Cup and SailGP stars, and long-time champions will gather once again at Foiling Week. Among them—without aiming for a complete list—are: Arnaud Psarofaghis, Diego Botin, Dylan Fletcher, Enzo Balanger, Quentin Delapierre, Giles Scott, Magnus Overbeck, Alessandra Dubbini, Marie Butler Wang, Hattie Rogers, Jann Schuepbach, Kevin Peponnet, Lucas Calabrese, Nicolai Jacobsen, Paul Goodison, Sam Street, Simone Salvà, Tom Slingsby, and many more.

Alongside the boat racing schedule, the foiling board programme will run in collaboration with the SFT – Surf Foil World Tour, featuring E-Foil and Pump Foil categories.

After the success of 2024, the “Downwind Race” returns to the programme of the world’s most renowned foiling event.

Among the new features this year is Ronstan’s involvement as Technical Partner for the Switch One Design class. With Vakaros providing technical support—which have now been present on almost every racing boat in Malcesine—top speeds for each class will be tracked. Gottifredi Maffioli, both a Foiling Week Sponsor and Technical Partner for the Moth class, will present a new product during the event.

Two prominent figures from North Sails Group and North Technology Group, Matteo Dorotini and Noe Cantaloube (who will also take part in the “Downwind Race”), will showcase their skills in exhibition sessions over the weekend.

As usual, the Foiling Week programme will include a full calendar of side activities focused on technology, education, environmental issues, and entertainment.

Under the supervision of experienced instructors, the public will be able to test sail both versions of the BirdyFish—the double-handed and the new “S” single-handed model, which recently won the Foiling Award for Best Production Sailing Boat. Other crafts available for testing will include Ketos, Foil.One, the “opti foiling” models Nikki and IODA for young sailors, and the “D”, the first foiling boat developed by Devoti Sailing. New products from FoilDrive and Onix will also be on display.

Two main clinics will take place during the week. The first, for youth sailors, is organised in collaboration with the XIV Zona of the Italian Sailing Federation. The second is tailored to the needs of female athletes involved in The Magenta Project.

Since its first edition in 2014, Foiling Week has placed a strong focus on environmental sustainability. This year, themed around #regeneration, will feature lakebed cleaning activities on Lake Garda, organised by Foiling Week in partnership with the Biodesign Foundation.

At the end of Foiling Week, on June 30th and July 1st, The Foiling Organization will host the inaugural Foiling Sport Congress at the same venue. The congress aims to bring together federations, classes, event organisers, yacht clubs, coaches, athletes, and industry leaders to discuss the future of competitive foiling.

As always, Foiling Week is organised with the support of the Municipality of Malcesine and hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine, which will celebrate the long-standing partnership with all attendees during the traditional lakeside aperitivo offered by Winery Tinazzi. The Race Village will remain open to the public throughout the event.

Since 2021, Foiling Week has been one of the Special Events recognised by World Sailing—sailing’s equivalent to the Grand Slam tournaments in tennis.