It was entirely natural for wingfoiling, newly established as a watersport in its own right, to develop a variety of competitions. The agility and speed of the hydrofoil opened the door to many disciplines: creative and spectacular freestyle, beautiful wave runs with the wing down — all of it fostered a competitive spirit.
Wingfoil has revolutionised the world of watersports — or rather, lifted it a metre above the water — and every year it captures more attention from riders and the general public.
2020 · The beginning
The first step belongs to GWA
By 2020, wingfoiling was gaining momentum. Equipment manufacturers eager to grow the young sport united years of experience in watersports product development and manufacturing, providing a strong platform for its future.
Airush, Cabrinha, Duotone, Fanatic, F-One, Manera, North, Ocean Rodeo and Slingshot — later joined by other world-renowned brands — founded the world's first international wingsports association: the Global Wingsports Association (GWA). It was established as a hub for wing-related matters under the team behind the Global Kitesports Association and professional kiteboarding competitions.
The two organisations still share their headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. GWA represents member brands, competitive and recreational athletes, and informs the public. It works with national federations to support sustainable industry growth, access to beaches and waterways, safety, guidelines and infrastructure.
GWA officially launched on 16 August 2020 at Engadinwind on Lake Silvaplana, Switzerland. A handshake between GWA General Secretary Jörgen Vogt and Engadinwind organiser Christian Müller sealed the agreement for future wingfoil racing events.
A new format
SuperFoil and Tarifa Wing Pro
Another major GWA goal was to develop international competition formats for multiple wingfoil disciplines. The path was difficult: the events of 2020 and COVID-19 created many restrictions. The first events followed strict WHO safety protocols and were closed to the public.
In November 2020, Fortaleza, Brazil, hosted the first official international GWA contest, SuperFoil. The open Surf-Freestyle format let competitors express themselves as freely as possible. Judges awarded points for wave riding, carving, tricks, creativity and the ability to make the most of the conditions.
In December of the same year, the European watersports capital of Tarifa hosted the first GWA Tarifa Wing Pro, also dedicated to freestyle. It played a key role. Boom — the whole world fell in love with wingfoil.
2021 · World Tour
From a national rally to Formula 1
Wingfoil and its disciplines developed quickly, and competitions rapidly gained popularity. Riders around the world waited for a chance to demonstrate new tricks and moves; many focused on speed and wave riding. Everyone looked forward to contests, but there never seemed to be enough of them.
In 2021, GWA organised the first World Tour — a series of international GWA World Cup championships. It became the elite class and arguably the sport's main world championship.
Today, GWA is the largest organiser of World Tours, dedicated to promoting wingfoiling, wingboarding and every other sport using a wing on water, land or snow in collaboration with the wingsports industry.
GWA formats
Four disciplines
Surf-Freestyle
Riders battle in heats of two or three, surfing waves or performing explosive and technically difficult aerial moves. Each athlete gets seven trick attempts; the best three scores from different trick families count.
FreeFly-Slalom
Up to 12 riders race around a multi-leg course with jibes, tacks and sections completed without wing power — pumping or surfing the hydrofoil. A series of short seeded races determines the podium.
Wave
Competitors purely surf waves in conditions ranging from cross-offshore point breaks to onshore beach breaks. Jumps on the way out do not count towards the score.
Big Air
A “wow and show” discipline judged mainly on jump height, with technical difficulty, power, smoothness and risk also considered. Athletes have already jumped 12 metres and flown 50 metres downwind.
FreeFly-Slalom has an interesting twist. A smaller foil provides more speed on wing-powered sections but makes pumping harder. A larger foil improves pumping performance but sacrifices speed on the racing stretches. This is the challenge set by GWA — let's see how it plays out.
Championships, World Tours, qualifiers and other contests are listed on the official GWA World Tour website.
IWSA · Racing
The foil gives us speed, and speed calls for competition
The GWA Race Class was suspended until 2026. During this period, WingFoil Racing World Cups were run exclusively by the International Wing Sports Association (IWSA).
IWSA was founded to give the best wing riders the opportunity to compete fairly under international judges. Its work includes:
- managing the world ranking system;
- developing class and championship rules;
- developing equipment registration regulations;
- training race officers, judges, umpires, measurers and other administrators.
IWSA organises two World Championship classes: the Formula Wing Championship and the World Cup Series for the WingFoil Open Class. It is a non-profit organisation under Swiss association law and pursues the charitable goal of running world- and continental-level competitions.
The schedule and rankings are available on the IWSA website.
Vetratoria
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Wingfoil is undeniably mesmerising. Fans around the world follow racing, wave, freestyle and the athletes who keep pushing the sport forward. Our station keeps up too: we regularly organise broadcasts of wingfoil championships across all disciplines and classes.
Join us!
Materials were collected from official sources:
Global Wingsports Association — wingfoilworldtour.com
The International Wing Sports Association — wingfoilracing.com