Wingfoil Youth Worlds debut in Costa Brava

• One-stop world championships to crown young winners in Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom

• Groundbreaking event aims to promote sustainability and climate action through sport

GWA Youth Wingfoil World World Championship Costa Brava
30 June-6 July, 2025 | Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre, San Pere Pescador

The GWA Youth Wingfoil World Championships are set to make their debut in on Spain’s Costa Brava, where the teenage winners in the Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom disciplines will be crowned.

The historic coastline at San Pere Pescador, north-east Spain, with its steady breezes, will play host to the one-stop world championships, with crowns up for grabs in the male and female U14, U16, and U19 divisions.

The groundbreaking Wingfoil Youth Worlds event at Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre will not only highlight the talents of young athletes, but also serve a powerful platform to promote sustainability and climate action through sport.

Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre, in collaboration with the GWA and supported by Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana (SfS), will ensure the event sticks to the highest standards of environmental responsibility. It will align with the Clean Regattas programme by SfS supported by World Sailing.

“We are committed to making this championship a model for sustainability in sailing,” said a spokesman for the Ballena Alegre Sailing Club. “Together with the GWA and Sailors for the Sea, we want to show that competitive sports can be a force for positive environmental change.”

Spain’s Nia Suardiaz, the reigning U19 champion in Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom, is expected to make the trip from Tarfia to defend her crowns as this will be the final she is eligible to compete at junior level.

Biggest challenger

On the senior Tour, the remarkable Suardiaz, 18, holds world titles in all four GWA disciplines: Surf-Freestyle, FreeFly-Slalom, Big Air and Wave.

Suardiaz’s biggest challenger is likely to come in the form of Austria’s Viola Lippitsch, 17, who has been competing on the senior Tour for the past two seasons and is highly ranked  in both Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom.

But several other French teenagers, Guadeloupe-based Manon Dupé, 16, and Enoha Laurent, 14, have been making their mark in the junior ranks over the past couple of seasons.

The GWA Youth Wingfoil World Championships Costa Brava follows the success two consecutive one-stop world championships Spain’s Canary Islands at La Palma. The hope is that the new venue on mainland Spain during the European school holidays will draw even larger numbers than last year’s almost 60 participants.

To be eligible for each age category, the young athletes must be below the age threshold for the whole of this year.

For instance, to gain entry to the U14 age group, the rider must be 13 years old or below for the whole of 2024. For U16, they must be 15 or below all of this year, and in the U19, they must be 18 or less all throughout this entire calendar year.

Big Austrian threat

World titles will be awarded in each discipline in each age category, unless there are insufficient entries in any particular category when the young riders will move up to the next age band.

In the male category, last year’s U19 Surf-Freestyle winner, France’s Axel Gerard, will likely be back to defend his title. But fellow countryman Clément Hamon and Spain’s Xavier Corr will also probably be on hand to fight for the win.

Perhaps the biggest threat will come from the Austrian twins, Tomas and Aleks Acherer, who have burst on to the Surf-Freestyle scene. Tomas Acherer won his first senior World Cup in Brazil last November, while Aleks took second place, while they took second and third place respectively at Mondial du Vent in April.

In the U16 male Surf-Freestyle class Denmark’s Benjamin Castenskiold, still 14, will be challenging for the win and must be in with a good shout after he took the fourth podium spot at his first senior event at Mondial du Vent.

In the FreeFly-Slalom discipline France’s Tom Pansard will probably be back to defend his title, though his countryman Axel Gerard, who was hard on his heels in second, will undoubtedly be looking to go one better this year.

Be sure to follow all the action here.

words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Lucas Tosi

Spot Info: San Pere Pescador

Wind

Sant Pere Pescador, particularly Platja del Cortal de la Devesa, offers consistently favourable conditions for winging during late June and July. This period is characterised by reliable thermal winds and sea breeze, making it a prime location for wingfoil events and recreational winging.

The prevailing thermal sea breeze, known locally as Garbí blows from the south-east and develops daily during this season. Starting around midday, it builds through the afternoon before dropping in the early evening.

The steady side-onshore direction ensures winds of 12 to 14 knots, with occasional peaks reaching up to 18 to 20 knots. A passing cold front can occasionally bring some Tramontana wind from the north. This gusty shoreward wind averages 16 to 18 knots, introducing more variable and dynamic conditions for wingfoilers looking to go big.

Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre

The club is located in the southern part of the Bay of Roses, close to Sant Martí d’Empúries and L’Escala. The competition area is sheltered by a southeastern point approximately three nautical miles offshore from the venue.

This location provides specific conditions for winging, though this natural protection minimises waves near the coastline even during strong sea breezes. But windward areas deeper in the bay may encounter more chop.

To sum up, the combination of steady Garbí winds, and occasional north winds, makes Platja del Cortal de la Devesa on Roses Bay an exceptional destination for watersports during late June and July. Over the years, this location has become synonymous with many successful world-class sailing events.

Event Information

• Location: Club de Vela La Ballena Alegre, San Pere Pescador
• Dates: 30 June-6 July April, 2025
• The official Race Notice and event schedule can be found here.
• All event information is here.

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A written report will be posted to the website at the end of the competition.