Foiling Sport Congress gathers global players to shape the Future of Foiling

by Nicola Maggio 7 Jul 22:58 PDT 30 June - 1 July 2025

Last week, Malcesine hosted the first-ever Foiling Sport Congress — a by-invitation event organised to foster an in-depth discussion on the current state and future developments of foiling across all disciplines.

The Foiling Organization brought together over 50 participants for this inaugural edition, including athletes, professional teams, national federations, non-profits, major foiling events, local promotion agencies, clubs, manufacturers, and service providers.

The programme was designed to address a wide range of strategic topics: alignment of international calendars, joint promotion of foiling, innovation in race technology, safety and equipment, Olympic and professional training pathways, simulation and virtual reality, as well as inclusivity and accessibility.

The Foiling Organization also presented a preview of the Foiling Cup, set to be officially launched at Metstrade in Amsterdam this November. A new foiling multiclass series, dedicated to teams representing yacht clubs, MNAs, organizations, professional teams, — either individually or in collaboration — composed of 5 sailors, with a minimum of 2 women and 2 youth.

The informal and collaborative atmosphere extended discussions well beyond the scheduled sessions. Participants took full advantage of networking opportunities made available by The Foiling Organization.

Ben Williams, Divisional Director - Marine Trades & Yacht Division at Ropner Insurance Services, presenting partner of the Foiling Sport Congress and of the World Foiling Congress held in Genoa last April, stated: "Our choice to sponsor the Congress is the ability to collaborate with many members within the organization, event organizers, participants, to be able to create bespoke programs for its members, to hopefully improve the industry standards on the insurance side."

Throughout the panels and conversations, many speakers underlined the strategic role a connector like The Foiling Organization could play in supporting and amplifying both individual and collective efforts across the foiling landscape.

The Congress discussions highlighted opportunities to further strengthen cooperation and alignment within the foiling community. Participants identified several key focus areas, including:

• Enhanced coordination of the global foiling calendar, integrating major events and classes.

• Creation of platforms to support a unified voice across all foiling disciplines (wind, motor, and human-powered).

• Establishment of a dedicated safety working group to systematically analyze injury and incident data.

• Development of a global foiling coaches training program, potentially in collaboration with World Sailing.

• Exploration of tailored insurance products, in partnership with Ropner, to better support professional athletes, classes, and events.

Attendees included athletes Giulia Conti, Simone Salvà, Diego Botin, Dylan Fletcher and Arnaud Psarofagis, as well as representatives from: Aarhus International Sailing Center, AC Team Germany, Amaala Yacht Club, Antal, Aotearoa Racing, Befoil, Birdyfish, Caponnetto Hueber, Danish Olympic Sailing Team, DutchSail, E1 Series, Element 6 Evolution, Emirates SailGP GBR, FIV - Federazione Italiana Vela, Forward WIP, GWA, GWA Wingfoil World Tour, SFT - Surf Foil World Tour, Hellenic Sailing Federation, Persico Marine, Pindar by Manuport Logistics, Polish Sailing Association, Polish Yachting Association, Reedman Wealth Management, Ropner, Royal Norwegian Yacht Club, RYA - Royal Yachting Association, SailGP, Sangiorgio Marine, Shock Sailing, Skeeta Watersports, Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano - Barcolana, Spain SailGP Team, Swedish Sailing Federation, The Magenta Project, The Ocean Race, US Sailing, Vakaros, VMG-Sports, WASZP Class, and World Sailing.

The Foiling Sport Congress was made possible thanks to the support of Ropner Insurances, under the patronage of FIV - Federazione Italiana Vela, and with the collaboration of Garmin and Persico Marine.

The Foiling Sport Congress programme is available online at foiling.org

Quotes:

Giulia Conti, professional sailor: "This is a great idea and we need to go forward. The panels we had these couple of days have been really important to discuss how to move forward. Foiling is the future of our sport and it is important to gather everyone, from athletes to stakeholders to insurances. It is important to have a central organization able to coordinate everything."

Russell Coutts, CEO SailGP: "This first Foiling Sport Congress is important, it is important to get all together and discuss topics, so I think that is a great starting point."

Michele Marchesini, Italian Olympic Sailing Team Coach: "The Foiling Sport Congress is a sort of live laboratory on the state of the art of the discipline and a perfect window on the future of foiling."

Rodi Basso, Chief Executive Officer at E1 Series: "The Foiling Organization is a very important forum every time you need to put together ideas and synergies with different classes or different sports. We need to join forces in order to make sure that this will be the technology of the future."

Peter Rush, Communications Director The Ocean Race: "It's important to have something like The Foiling Organization to be a connector among all the different aspects of foiling."