World Sailing has awarded the upcoming 2022 Foiling Week Special Event status, ensuring the competition can grow, reach more people, and partner with international and national foiling programmes and pathways to create events within the event.
Foiling Week joins high profile activities with Special Event status such as the America’s Cup, The Ocean Race, SailGP, World Match Racing Tour, PWA World Tour, Star Sailors League and GKA Kite World Tour.
“Foiling Week is not just an event; it is a community and a network that is about action. We don’t only care about the foiling and greater sailing community,” said Luca Rizzotti, founder of Foiling Week.
“We create opportunities, with the goal in mind of being primarily agents of change. The event’s initiatives are well known in the sailing community and reach beyond the sport including partnerships with universities, manufacturers and non-profits in the environmental and social responsibility spaces. We are all connected and we should grow as a community, responsibly together,” added Rizzotti.
Foiling Week is the hub of the world hydrofoiling community and the only World Sailing Special Event that is community-based. It includes a well-attended Forum, where talented and creative individuals share ideas and collaborate to make connections and improve the way the event operates and the class evolves.
Special Event status ensures World Sailing formally recognises and sanctions the events. It also means that Foiling Week will follow the targets set by the World Sailing’s Sustainability Agenda 2030, which includes working with the Magenta Project to promote professional sailing opportunities for women, and the World Sailing Trust which provides funding for a diverse group of initiatives to increase access to sailing and promote sustainable practices in sport and manufacturing.
As part of the Charter, all Special Events have a comprehensive sustainability strategy, and aligned applicable principles as set out in the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda 2030, while committing to working with World Sailing to accelerate the objectives and targets.
David Graham, World Sailing CEO, said “The addition of Foiling Week to our group of Special Events is exciting for the future of sailing. The growth of the event has been phenomenal to witness, going way beyond the racing to galvanise an entire movement.
“We are pleased to be working hand-in-hand with them to create new avenues for partnership as well as opportunities to further the World Sailing Sustainability Agenda. Foiling Week has already taken great strides in this area and we are looking forward to learning from each other and inspiring a positive change throughout the sailing world.”
Foiling Week’s mantra is ‘connect, cooperate, change’. From the start, the event has been one of firsts. The first women’s and kids foiling trials; the first sustainability initiatives reducing entry fees for car-pooling participants and the elimination of single use plastics at the event site.
The SuMoth Challenge, part of every Foiling Week since its introduction in 2019, was shortlisted for this year’s World Sailing 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award. A global challenge, it brought students from around the world together to design, manufacture and sail a sustainable Moth.
Having hosted events in Australasia, North America and Europe, Foiling Week has become a scalable, practical presence in sport both physically and online and is moving forward with World Sailing to connect, collaborate and make positive change in sport and beyond.
By World Sailing
