The Foiling Week Malcesine 2025, held from June 22nd to 29th at Fraglia Vela Malcesine on Lake Garda, Italy, continued its tradition as a premier event for foiling enthusiasts. A consistent playground for Foiling Week since 2014 due to its reliable winds and hospitality, once again hosted a wide array of hydrofoiling disciplines—from high-performance sailboats to electric and pump-powered boards, all embodying speed, innovation, and adrenaline. The event’s social theme for 2025, #regeneration, emphasized a global approach to the climate crisis by integrating biodiversity, human dignity, justice, and climate into transformative actions.
The twelfth edition of the competition featured a wide array of foiling classes and activities. A significant highlight was the first-ever BirdyFish World Championship title, which saw the largest fleet for the occasion, with the Italian crew of Federico Bonalana and Marco Alberti emerging victorious. The event held special importance for Moth sailors, serving as a prelude to the upcoming Moth World Championship, and featured a highly competitive lineup.
France’s Enzo Balanger secured his third Foiling Week title in the Moth class, while Victoria Schulteis of Malta was the top female finisher. The ETF26 class saw a full French podium, with Entreprises du Morbihan taking first place. The WASZP class, with 131 boats, had the highest number of participants, and Spain’s Pablo Astiazaran Perez-Cela claimed the win. Italy dominated the 6.9 youth division, and in the Switch One Design class, Malta’s Antonia Schultheis was the winner among women, with British sailors Finley Dickinson and Sam Whaley topping the men’s division.
Beyond the races, the event included board competitions organized with the Surf Foil World Tour, a Downwind Race, and the first Foiling Week Cup, a virtual competition on the AC40 simulator won by “American Magic.” The Foiling Week Village offered trials of various boats and board equipment. The week also featured a clinic for foiling race officers, on-water demonstrations, and sessions on foil manufacturing techniques.
Notable social and environmental initiatives, aligned with the #regeneration theme, included a lakebed cleanup dive and a workshop on crafting bags from discarded fishing nets. The event concluded with the Foiling Sport Congress, bringing together representatives from the international sailing community.
Here’s a recap of the Foiling Week Malcesine 2025:
- Dates: June 22nd – 29th, 2025
- Location: Fraglia Vela Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy
- Social Theme: #regeneration, focusing on a global approach to the climate crisis.
- Key Highlights:
- First-ever BirdyFish World Championship title, won by Federico Bonalana and Marco Alberti (Italy).
- Significant lead-up to the Moth World Championship.
- Largest participation in the WASZP class with 131 boats.
- First Foiling Week Cup, a virtual AC40 simulator competition won by “American Magic.”
- Foiling Week Village for boat and board equipment trials.
- Foiling Sport Congress.
- Winners by Class:
- BirdyFish: Federico Bonalana and Marco Alberti (Italy)
- Moth: Enzo Balanger (France) – secured his third Foiling Week title.
- Top Female: Victoria Schulteis (Malta)
- ETF26: Entreprises du Morbihan (France)
- WASZP: Pablo Astiazaran Perez-Cela (Spain)
- 6.9 Youth Division: Dominated by Italian teams.
- Switch One Design:
- Women: Antonia Schultheis (Malta)
- Men: Finley Dickinson and Sam Whaley (Great Britain)
- Additional Activities:
- Board competitions with the Surf Foil World Tour.
- Downwind Race.
- Clinic for foiling race officers.
- On-water demonstrations and foil manufacturing sessions.
- Social and Environmental Initiatives (#regeneration theme):
- Lakebed cleanup dive.
- Workshop on crafting bags from discarded fishing nets.
For more information visit https://foilingweek.com/
