The island’s conditions have allowed it to host a World Cup event in this modality.
For several years Lanzarote has been experiencing the “wingfoil” phenomenon first hand. This new nautical discipline is causing a furore all over Europe and here in Lanzarote, it has found the best possible setting for local and visiting riders to enjoy themselves in incredible spots distributed all over the island. The island’s wind and sea conditions offer the perfect setting to host the “Wingfoil World Cup Lanzarote 2022″, an event which will see the participation of the best riders on the international circuit. This competition once again demonstrates the island’s potential to host nautical events with worldwide repercussions.
Lanzarote offers its spectacular weather conditions so that riders can enjoy four days of competition in a true paradise for the practice of water sports. Costa Teguise – specifically Las Cucharas Beach – will be the epicentre of the wingfoil competition. This location has been the setting for several years for the European Windsurfing Championships and you can see dozens of people practising windsurfing, kitesurfing, SUP and wingfoil here every day.
The perfect water temperature, the facilities for transporting equipment and the variety of regatta courses make the island the best destination in Europe for wingfoil enthusiasts. The waters of Lanzarote offer a unique experience to professionals and amateurs alike, surrounded as they are by the marvellous landscapes of Famara, Playa Blanca and Costa Teguise.
What modalities will you see from Las Cucharas Beach during the Wingfoil World Cup Lanzarote 2022?
Read on to find out more details about the “Wingfoil World Cup Lanzarote 2022”, the different types of competition and to discover why wingfoil is in fashion, almost eclipsing such established modalities as windsurfing or kitesurfing.
The modality that will count towards the World Cup organised by the Global Wingsports Association (GWA) will be the Freestyle Wingfoil, although the organisation has also prepared a day for Race Wingfoiling with cash prizes for riders who want to demonstrate their speed to the public who come to Las Cucharas Beach.
Freestyle Wingfoil: In this modality the riders have to surprise the judges with their best acrobatics in the air. For 9 minutes, two competitors perform their best tricks, and the judges have the task of scoring the difficulty of the manoeuvres. The winner will advance to the next round, getting closer to victory in Lanzarote.
Race Wingfoiling: For this modality the organisation will mark out a racecourse near the sea wall that protects Las Cucharas Beach. Riders will form a starting grid behind an imaginary line between two buoys, and when the judges sound the horn, the competition begins. The winner is the rider who completes the circuit in the shortest time, so speed is the main protagonist in this discipline.
Why is wingfoil an addictive sport and why is it here to stay?
Wingfoil is a sport that has a big advantage over other water sports because the use of a foil (a long, black keel that goes under the water) allows you to go on the water in less wind than required by other sports such as kite and windsurfing (unless a foil is also attached to the boards).
The foil uses technology seen an aeroplane: when the water hits the surface of the board, it tends to rise and therefore floats above the water. To kite or windsurf you need wind conditions of at least 27 kilometres per hour, whereas with the wingfoil you can go on the water in conditions of only 14 km/hour wind, which makes this sport possible almost every day in Lanzarote.
Another of the many advantages of this sport, is the ease with which you can transport your equipment in a conventional car, and this has undoubtedly helped to increase the number of practitioners around the world.
We spoke to Canarian rider, Julia Castro, and she gave us some tips on choosing and maintaining the equipment you need for wingfoiling:
The equipment is usually quite expensive if you look at it as a whole and buy it all at once, but if you take good care of the equipment it can last for several years, so in the end it is not so expensive. The equipment consists of a board with or without straps (the straps where you put your feet), the foil (the keel that helps you fly over the water) and the wing. To this you would have to add the moorings of the wing and the board to prevent you losing your kit in the middle of the Atlantic.
For Julia, these are the keys to extending the life of your equipment:
Have backpacks and protection for the different parts of the equipment. If you protect your kit when you transport it in your car, it will last longer. It’s like a mobile phone case, but for your equipment. The foil in particular is quite fragile, you have to take care of it, as well as the wing that could be damaged by sharp objects.
Clean it with fresh water only as much as necessary. In the Canary Islands we have a problem, in that the water has a lot of lime and that’s not ideal for the materials. It is true that the kit can withstand the salty conditions of the sea, so it’s necessary to find a balance between not cleaning the equipment too much and not leaving it with a visible white layer of limescale. This is not the case with hardware and metal parts, as they need to be lubricated and not allowed to rust.
Bend the wing with love. It is very important not to bend the wing too much as this will result in a loss of durability. Each brand has its own specifications on how to bend the wing you have purchased, check the brand’s recommendations and follow them.
Inflate and deflate. You will see that every wing is different, but, in general, wings have a valve to inflate and another one to let the air out. Use them correctly, spend as much time as necessary to get it right and don’t only use the inflation valve because this will be reflected in the durability of your wing.
I would say these are the basic tips needed to make your equipment last for a long time. And if you’re reading this, get out there and try wingfoiling! It can be a bit difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it’s super fun.
See you in the water!
