THE IQFOIL STORY

In November 2019 the World Sailing Council approved the iQFoil as the equipment for windsurfing events at the 2024 Olympic games in France, replacing the RS:X, which was the chosen Olympic equipment since Beijing in 2008. It was a massive coup for Starboard and Severne and the result of years of hard work, innovation and dedication from the team behind the scenes. John Carter caught up with some of the key players to learn more about the process of winning the bid and designing the gear, and we also learn about how you can get a hold of the kit in the UK and get racing on it!

- Tiesda You, Remi Villa, Svein Rasmussen, Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, Ben Severne, Paul Simmons & Sam Ross

TIESDA YOU - STARBOARD’S HEAD OF BRAND AND DESIGN.

BACKGROUND

Windsurfing foils have been around a long time. There were the garage-built foils from the earliest days. Then there were the custom foils made in limited quantities by some of the earliest pioneering local brands such as Horue, F4 and Loke. EARLY DAYS Our first foray into foils started in 2003 when Starboard collaborated with legendary Hawaiian waterman Rush Randle on a solid aluminium foil. In 2012, inspired by the sheer performance of America’s Cup boats on foils, I started work on several foil concepts under the Starboard Foils division. In August 2016 came the breakthrough, an innovative racing foil with a new geometry bringing a fresh level of performance. With a foil that had stability, wind range, upwind performance and the ability to take-off in the lightest winds, foil racing was ready to take the next step.

BREAKTHROUGH