The sport
WHAT IS iQFOiL?
iQFOiL is the Olympic windsurfing class. The board doesn’t sit in the water — it flies above it, on a hydrofoil, a wing below the surface. I race this class internationally, and here I explain how it works.
From windsurfing to flying
Most people know classic windsurfing: board, sail, fin — the board planes across the water. iQFOiL starts the same way; the difference is underneath. Below the board sits a mast, and at the bottom of it are two wings: a large front wing and a smaller rear wing. Together they make the foil.
At low speed the wings even add a little drag. Past a certain speed that flips: they generate lift, on the same principle as an aircraft wing, only in a denser medium. Water is roughly eight hundred times denser than air, so a wing area about the size of a forearm is enough to lift rider and gear. The board rises until only the mast stays submerged — most of the drag disappears with it, and it goes quiet and fast at once.
The rear wing holds the balance. Too much lift and the foil breaches; too little and you drop back down. Holding that balance for minutes, through chop and shifting wind, is the part you genuinely have to learn.
The equipment
iQFOiL is a one-design class: everyone races the same equipment within the class rules — same board, same foil, same mast. The only difference between the men’s and women’s events is sail size. In very light wind the class also allows a conventional fin instead of the foil, so it isn’t always flying — just mostly. Source: RYA
That sounds like everyone should be equally fast. They aren’t. Same equipment only means nobody can buy an advantage. What’s left is setup — foil position, sail trim, foot straps, ride height. Each of those changes how the gear behaves in this wind, this chop, this course, and what’s right today can be wrong tomorrow.
That’s what I like about the class. There is no excuse about the gear. Whoever is faster set it up better, read it better, or sailed it better.
How a race works
A race starts on a start line between two marks. Everyone starts at once, and timing is already half the job: a second early and you are sent back, a second late and you are sailing in everyone else’s dirty wind.
Then comes a course marked by buoys: upwind, zigzagging because you cannot sail straight into the wind, and downwind on the way back, considerably faster. At every mark you tack or gybe. These manoeuvres decide races — drop off the foil and you lose seconds you will not get back.
Not every race is the same. The class uses several formats, and which ones are sailed is set out in each event’s notice of race. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games there were three:
| Format | Duration | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Slalom | 4–7 minutes | all together, downwind, very fast |
| Course racing | 16–23 minutes | upwind–downwind, tactical |
| Marathon | 60–90 minutes | endurance, long distance |
After several days of racing the top ten went into a medal series with quarter, semi and grand final. Other events set other priorities. Source: iQFOiL Class Official
What makes a fast racer
One design doesn’t mean only weight or equipment count. It means everything else does.
- Start
- Full speed exactly on the signal, in the right spot on the line. A bad start costs more than equipment could ever give.
- Speed and tuning
- Pace at the highest possible angle to the wind — and the setup to match. This morning's may be wrong by the afternoon.
- Manoeuvres
- A gybe where the board stays on the foil is worth gold. One where you drop costs ten seconds.
- Tactics and strategy
- Strategy is the plan before the start: which side, which wind. Tactics is what survives once thirty other people want the same thing.
- Balance, fitness and head
- Corrections in tenths of a second, several races a day, marathon distances — and in the end it is whoever can still think clearly in the last race.
Why iQFOiL is Olympic
World Sailing selected iQFOiL as the equipment for the windsurfing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, replacing the RS:X that had been raced across several Games. Paris 2024 was the class’s Olympic debut. There is one event for men and one for women, with identical equipment apart from sail size. Source: RYA
How qualification works surprises many people: the place belongs to the nation, not the athlete. For Paris 2024, each nation could enter a maximum of one board per event. Places were allocated through several routes — the World Championship, continental qualifiers, a last-chance regatta, plus host nation and universality places. Which athlete then takes the place is decided by the national federation under its own criteria. Source: World Sailing
That was the Paris 2024 system. Qualification systems are set afresh for each edition, so what applies to the next Games is not automatically the same.
My path
I first stood on a board at seven. Since then I want to be on the water every day I can. I started at national youth regattas, then came the international ones: U17 first, then two years in U19, and now the U23 and senior categories. Every step means a bigger fleet and a higher level — and every time it feels like starting near the bottom again.
My long-term goal is to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games. Without a fixed year. That is decided by results and by the federation, not by announcements. Until then it is about every training day — in summer mostly on Lake Silvaplana.
Where I stand right now is on the results section.
iQFOiL and wingfoil racing
Alongside iQFOiL I also race wingfoil. The two share the important part: a foil under the board, a course with buoys, a start that decides a lot, and the same question — who gets from A to B fastest in this wind?
What differs is the power source: in wingfoiling you hold an inflatable wing in your hands instead of having a rig and mast on the board. That changes starts, handling and manoeuvres, and courses are often tighter. The timing differs; the thinking doesn’t.
For my iQFOiL racing it is valuable: other tactics, other opponents, and I stay on the foil when the iQFOiL season pauses. Wingfoil racing is not an Olympic class — I race it because it makes me better.
Frequently asked questions
- What does iQFOiL mean?
- The name of the equipment World Sailing selected for the Olympic windsurfing events — not an abbreviation. It refers to the whole package: board, sail and foil.
- Why does the board fly?
- Because the wings under water generate lift, the way an aircraft wing does in air. Past enough speed that lift is enough to raise board and rider.
- Does everyone really use the same equipment?
- Yes, within the class rules. Differences come from setup, technique and decisions — not from purchasing.
- How do you win a race?
- A good start, clean speed, few mistakes in the manoeuvres, and the right decisions about where on the course to sail.
- How fast is iQFOiL?
- Fast enough that the manoeuvres become the real challenge. An exact figure says little: speed depends on wind, chop, course and rider, and varies a lot.
- Is iQFOiL Olympic?
- Yes. The class made its Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games, replacing the RS:X.
If you want to see more
Images from the last few seasons of racing are in the gallery, the current placings under results. How a partnership can work is on the partnership section.
On social media I post what happens between races — gear, travel, training blocks: Instagram · TikTok · YouTube
Sources for the technical details on this page
- Royal Yachting Association — What is the iQFOiL
- iQFOiL Class Official — Paris 2024
- World Sailing — Paris 2024 Qualification System
Sources accessed on 28 August 2026. Equipment, race formats and qualification systems change — anyone entering an event should always check the current class rules and the notice of race.