iQFOiL Youth & Junior season gains momentum with record numbers in Torbole, Italy
by iQFOiL Communications 6 May 07:30 NZST
6-10 May 2025
iQFOiL Youth & Junior International Games © Elena Giolai
The international iQFOiL Class is surging into the 2025 season with record participation and growing global engagement.
This week, Torbole on Lake Garda becomes the stage for the iQFOiL Youth & Junior International Games, the second major event of the international calendar and the first exclusively dedicated to the U17 (Junior) and U19 (Youth) categories.
With 218 registered athletes from 23 countries across five continents, the event reflects the remarkable growth and diversity of the iQFOiL Class, the windsurfing discipline selected for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028.
This strong start follows an action-packed weekend that saw nearly 120 competitors from 14 nations take part in the second leg of the iQFOiL Italian Cup, also held in Torbole, this past weekend. Notable performances included a performance in the U19 Men's fleet by Valentino Blewett, who used to sail for the Circolo Surf Torbole and now sporting the Canadian flag, and a near-perfect series from Italy's Medea Falcioni (SEF Stamura) in the U19 Women's fleet—dropping a 1st and 2nd place to claim victory. Frantisek Burda of the Czech Republic swept the U17 Men's fleet, while Marta Valente (WC Taranto) took top honors in the U17 Women's division.
This week's Games mark the first major Youth and Junior-only international iQFOiL regatta on a lake, serving also as another live test for the new racing rules and Medal Series format introduced since January 2025. Alongside the second test for the 7.3 m" rig for Youth Women and the use of carbon foils now permitted in the Junior fleet, the updated final format is designed to reward consistency and sailing skills.
Competition begins Tuesday, 6 May, with the first possible start at 13:00, followed by an official opening ceremony at 18:00. Despite an unsettled weather forecast, local knowledge suggests Lake Garda's classic northerly breeze may offer reliable racing conditions in the earlier days of the regatta.
Racing will feature a dynamic combination of Sprint Racing, run in both downwind and upwind slalom formats with heat-based starts; Course Racing, designed to test consistency and tactical decision-making; and a long-distance Marathon, which will carry double points and push sailors' endurance and strategic planning to the limit.
With 82 entries in the U17 Men's fleet and 73 in the U19 Men's, alongside 30 athletes in each of the girls' fleets, participation has surpassed expectations - confirming the iQFOiL Youth & Junior platform as the most vibrant, competitive, and globally diverse in the sport of sailing today.