Windfoiling

Windfoiling (or foil windsurfing) is a surface water sport that is the hydrofoiling evolution of windsurfing, as well as typical sailing boats and sailing hydrofoils. It uses similar equipment to windsurfing with a normal or slightly evolved rig on a normal or specialist foil board.

Mechanics

The board has a hydrofoil mounted in the fin box. The hydrofoil lifts the board off the water and enables the rider to achieve improved speeds in light winds due to the reduced drag. ^{[1] [ better source needed ]}

The foil transmits a hydrodynamic lift force to the board, capable of lifting it out of the water. The goal is to reduce drag and increase performance.^{[ need quotation to verify ]}

Olympic event debut

Windfoiling debuted as an Olympic event in 2024. ^{[2] [3]} They used the Starboard IQFoil gear. ^{[4] [5]}

Events involving foiling

Event [6] [3] [7]	Foiling Model
Men's Windsurfer Women's Windsurfer	IQFoil
Men's and Women's Kite	Formula Kite
Mixed Two Person Multihull	Nacra 17

See also

• Land windsurfing — on large skateboard, propelled by sail
• Hydrofoil board — surfboard with a hydrofoil
• Wing foiling - a lightweight wing on a surfboard with a hydrofoil

References

1. Jourdan, Romain (21 January 2021). "Windfoiling vs Windsurfing – Is Foil is the Future?". Wind Foil Zone. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
2. O'connor, Philip (8 August 2021). "Olympics-Sailing-Old classes wave goodbye as sailing set for changes". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
3. "Windfoiling included for 2024 Paris Olympics | Yachting New Zealand". www.yachtingnz.org.nz. 4 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-01-22. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
4. Smith, Daniel (7 December 2020). "Paris 2024 decisions made by the International Olympic Committee". World Sailing. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
5. Museler, Chris (25 February 2020). "Windfoiling: Meet the New Olympic Discipline". Sailing World. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
6. "Paris 2024: IOC confirms Mixed Keelboat event is dropped from 2024 Olympic regatta". www.sail-world.com.
7. "Olympic Sailing boats: Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing events explained". Yachting World. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2025.