Wing foil boardercross

A regatta format for the future?

The German Wing Foil Club e.V. (DWFC) is currently working to organize wing foil races in a boardercross format. What does a race like this look like? For example, it might start on the beach, feature a slalom course around buoys, jumps over obstacles, a pumping section without wing propulsion and a finish line on the beach - this format has already been used at the SEND IT Wingfoil Clash on Fehmarn (see report).

The professional wing foil tour also tested a similar format - known as “Expression Slalom” - this summer at the world cup in Fuerteventura (Link to the report).

At GWA events, slalom races have always been held as FreeFly-Slaloms, featuring varying courses with crosswind, downwind and upwind segments. A pumping section without wing propulsion is also a standard part of each of these races as a “FreeFly” section. During the summer test, a jump over an obstacle and a trick - which had to be performed on either a port or starboard course - were also integrated into the races.

The goal of both concepts is, on the one hand, to make the races more appealing to spectators and, on the other hand, to place greater emphasis on the athletes’ overall skills. It shouldn’t be highly specialized gear that wins races, but rather the best rider using equipment that anyone would choose for a regular wing foil session.

Beach start, buoy course, pump section and jumps over obstacles

The boardercross concept in surfing isn’t new; over 20 years ago, windsurfers were already jumping over the “sausage” (a floating obstacle) and had to perform freestyle tricks during the race. For the past two years, this concept has been back in a similar form at the PWA Windsurf World Cup.

So now it’s coming to wing foiling, too? It’s worth a try, even if jumping over obstacles isn’t really part of freeriding. But that’s been taken into account as well: That’s why there’s an alternate route in the races to bypass the jump and navigate around the obstacle instead. This way, the regatta format remains accessible even to less experienced competitors.

In Germany, the DWFC developed the concept in collaboration with young riders for the 2026 event on Fehmarn and will rely on it again in 2027. This element can be used to create excitement in competitions - as is regularly seen at the Winter Olympics, where boardercross and ski cross are thrilling events.

The focus on the Olympics is fitting, because in late October 2026, expert committees of World Sailing voted to recommend wing foiling as a potential Olympic discipline for Brisbane 2032. To make this happen, a suitable competition format must be established. Perhaps this could be a race incorporating boardercross elements. The year 2027 will show how this idea develops.