Four possible competition formats in new foiling discipline to be tested on sidelines of Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom contests
GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura 28 July—2 Aug, 2025 | Playa de Sotavento
The exciting new foiling discipline of pocketwinging is to be trialled in international competition on the sidelines of the upcoming GWA Wingfoil World Cup Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, Spain.
Four possible competition race formats are to be tested over a day of action at the constantly-evolving Fuerteventura World Cup, which hits its 37th edition this year.
Already, the iconic Mondial du Vent event in Leucate, France, has signed to host the first pocketwing world tour event for next year. It has still to be decided if competition pocketwinging will come under the GWA or its sister tour, the Surf Foil World Tour (SFT).
For now, the competitive element of pocketwinging is being limited to a race format, with the emphasis on stashing the wing and riding downwind swells or waves, as originally intended by their designers.
But even in Fuerteventura the most progressive riders, like Switzerland’s Balz Müller, may join the fun to show the pocketwing’s capabilities in the realms of Freestyle. With such a fast-moving new discipline, nothing has been ruled out in the competition sphere.
Collapsed and stowed
The plan for Fuerteventura is that perhaps up to eight riders will take part in the demo contests in the four race formats that seek to exploit the pocketwing’s key attribute: that it can be collapsed and stowed, if desired, to allow unfettered riding of swells or waves.
The first format under consideration being tested will be an upwind, downwind contest. The pocketwings will be used to power the riders to an upwind mark where they will collapse the pocketwing and ride the swells to the downwind mark about 300 metres away over multiple laps. Here, the upwind ability of the pocketwing will be an element.
A second format will see the athletes ride upwind to a mark where they will collapse their pocketwings. The riders will be given time to stow the pocketwing before the race begins as the athletes ride the swell downwind.
The third style of contest will not necessarily be be straight upwind, but a zigzag course around buoys before the pocketwing is packed away to ride the swells or waves around a downwind mark for multiple laps.
Early days
The final format to be trialled is a zigzag course upwind and downwind around marks, with the pocketwing packed away on each downwind section of the laps.
It is still very early days in this new foiling discipline, but the organisers envisage that a pocketwing will be “packable”, with bridles no longer than, perhaps, two metres, or “arms-length”, to enable it to be collapsed with one grab and stowed. The pocketwings could be double or single surfaced, influencing both upwind ability and packability.
Tom Hartmann, GWA Wingfoil World Tour Manager, emphasised that the trial in Fuerteventura is only the first steps. But with such a quickly-changing new discipline it is difficult to judge the direction it would take.
“We have discussed it with the industry and asked how they see it evolving,” said Hartmann. “They believe it is mainly for downwinding and not cruising around using the power of the pocketwing. But who knows? Maybe at some point we’ll need multiple disciplines.”
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova / Diogo Cardoso
Spot Info: Playa de Sotavento, Fuerteventura
Weather The weather in Fuerteventura, Spain, during July, ranges around 25-30°C with sunrise around 07:15 and sunset at 21:00.
Wind and water July is a great month for wind in Fuerteventura. The wind regularly blows 20-25+ knots, coming from the north/north-east, which blows side offshore at Sotavento. The water is choppy with occasional kickers rolling in with the swell. Water temperature is 23-24°C, so bring a shorty or summer wetsuit.
