Olympic Changes Made for Windsurfing
The iQFOiL Class updates sail sizes for men and women ahead of the 2028 Olympics to boost inclusivity and youth-to-senior transitions.
It’s been 40 years since windsurfing became an Olympic event for men, first on a Windglider, and over three decades for women, who started on a Lechner board. Over the years, equipment changes have ranged from the Mistral One Design and Neil Pryde RS:X to, more recently, the iQFOiL for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Aruba’s Ethan Westera represented the Caribbean in this class in Marseille. Light winds and postponed racing are one reason World Sailing and the iQFOiL Class have made changes for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Starting in January 2025, the women’s and men’s iQFOiL fleets will adopt new sail sizes that encourage greater accessibility and smoother transitions between youth and senior categories.
More specifically, Women and Youth Women will transition from the 8m² sail to a 7.3m² (new design) sail. Men will switch from the 9m² sail to an 8m² (current Women and Youth design) sail. Both categories will adopt the existing 490 (4.90m) mast to align with the revised sail sizes. These updates reflect a commitment to making the iQFOiL Class more inclusive for athletes of all body sizes. The new equipment supports a more level playing field, providing a competitive platform for sailors of a greater diversity of builds from different nations and continents. The iQFOil International Games in Lanzarote in January 2025 is the first official event under the new rules.
“These changes represent a thoughtful and conscious evolution of the iQFOiL Class as a sport, which has just completed its first Olympic cycle. This new chapter prioritizes inclusivity, fairness, and accessibility worldwide,” says Gonzalo Costa Hoevel, iQFOiL Class Manager. “By creating a smoother pathway from youth to senior categories and ensuring equitable competition across genders and body types, we are taking an important step toward making iQFOiL an even more global and sustainable class.” www.sailing.org, www.iqfoilclassofficial.org
Carol Bareuther has written for ALL AT SEA since 2004.
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