boot Düsseldorf stages groundbreaking indoor GWA wingfoil world cup with leading international athletes
boot GWA Indoor Wingfoil World Cup Düsseldorf
boot Düsseldorf, 17-19 January, 2025
The GWA is to stage the first Indoor Wingfoil World Cup at the globe’s biggest boat and watersports’ show in Düsseldorf, Germany, drawing in many of the greatest international athletes who are eager to showcase the booming new sport.
The groundbreaking new departure will bring the world of competitive wingfoiling to a whole new audience at boot Düsseldorf, which enjoys crowds of up to 200,000 visitors during the nine-day show.
The invitational event, with a prize purse of €5,000, has attracted some world’s biggest names in wingfoiling, including Switzerland’s Balz Mülller, New Caledonia-based Titouan Galea, German kiteboarding star, Finn Flügel, and his compatriot Benjamin May, along with multiple teenage world champion, Spain’s Nia Suardiaz.
Some of the athletes will also be competing in the inaugural event of the SFT Surf Foil World Tour, a new non-wind driven pump-foil competition which is launching at boot Düsseldorf ahead of stops around the world this year in its five disciplines.
Time-trial slalom
The novel wingfoil competition will have a time-trial slalom format where the athletes will race around a course of two buoys, gybing and tacking for two or three laps of the XXL indoor pool that measures 60 by 20 metres.
A cable over the pool will tow the athletes up to foiling speed, while gigantic fans along the side of the pool will power their wings and allow them to complete the course in the fastest time possible. An LED screen at the pool’s side will give the times and rankings.
The first of the three days of competition will be used for testing, giving the athletes a chance to get their bearings in the challenging new environment. The closing days are set for the heats and finals in what is sure to be a thrilling show.
The audiences in boot Düsseldorf’s Hall 17 will see a wingfoil contest like never before, full of thrills and spills just metres away, virtually within touching distance. The moderate winds from the fans will test the athletes’ skills to the full, and demand larger foil wings for glide and pump-ability.
‘Abdolute highlight’
Tom Hartmann, GWA Wingfoil World Tour manager, is excited to add this novel discipline to the burgeoning wingfoil scene, bringing it to a large and fresh audience at boot Düsseldorf.
“The first Indoor World Cup to be held at boot Düsseldorf is an absolute highlight,” he said. “There has never been anything like it before. We are really looking forward to bringing our tour to the trade fair for the first time and presenting the still-young sport of wingfoiling and our athletes to a wider audience. They will be closer to the public here than at any other event.”
Petros Michelidakis, director of boot Düsseldorf, added: “We are delighted to host the first Indoor Wing Foil World Cup and are excited to see how the specifically-designed competition format will be received at the trade fair. Since the wind is not very strong, the athletes have to demonstrate all their technical skills.”
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: boot Düsseldorf / C Tillmanns
