The Forlanini Spirit: Foiling Awards IX

The Foiling Awards IX, held on March 17, 2026, in Genoa, Italy, celebrated the pinnacle of hydrofoil technology, athleticism, and innovation. Often referred to as the “Night of the Stars,” the gala gathered over 200 industry leaders, elite athletes, and journalists at the Porto Antico to honor the standout achievements of 2025. This ninth edition underscored Genoa’s growing reputation as the “Foiling Capital,” coinciding with the World Foiling Congress to bridge the gap between competitive sport and commercial maritime evolution.

Event Highlights and Key Winners

• The Forlanini Award: Named after foiling pioneer Enrico Forlanini, the “winner of winners” trophy was awarded to Enzo Balanger. The French sailor also took home the Male Sailor title following his 2025 Moth World Championship victory.
• Female Sailor Award: Won by Victoria Schultheis of Malta, who was recognized for her performance as the Moth World Champion.
• Sailing Team Award: Granted to the Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team for their collective achievements in the high-speed racing circuit.
• Future Impact Award: A new distinction for 2026, assigned by an international press panel to Gitana 18. This award recognizes projects with the highest potential to scale and influence the future of the foiling sector.
• Innovation & Sustainability: * Innovation Technology: Awarded to Evolo.
• Sustainability: Awarded to Avel Minilab Sustainable Hydrofoils for their LMPAEK innovation.
• Strategic Appointments: The event featured the announcement of Giulia Conti (winner of the first Puig Women’s America’s Cup) as the new Head of Performance for We Are Foiling, where she will lead the development of global training programs.
• Community Choice: The winners were determined by a global online vote involving over 7,000 members of the foiling community, choosing from 104 shortlisted nominees across 13 categories.

Summary Table: IX Edition Category Winners

Here is an overview of the winners who defined the foiling landscape for 2025 across all ten major categories.

The Forlanini & Individual Athlete Awards

• Overall (Forlanini Award) – Enzo Balanger: Named after foiling pioneer Enrico Forlanini, this “winner of winners” trophy was awarded to Balanger as the most impactful figure of the year. It serves as a crowning achievement for his transition from a rising youth talent to a world-class helmsman.
• Male Sailor – Enzo Balanger: Balanger earned this title following a dominant 2025 season where he was crowned the International Moth World Champion on Lake Garda. His ability to consistently outpace a field of Olympic medalists and America’s Cup veterans cemented his status as the premier male athlete in the sport.
• Female Sailor – Victoria Schultheis: Representing Malta, Schultheis took the foiling world by storm by winning the Women’s Moth World Championship. Her victory was particularly notable because she mastered the notoriously difficult foiling dinghy in just a few months, showcasing extraordinary technical adaptability.

Teams and Future Impact

• Sailing Team – Emirates Great Britain SailGP: This award recognizes the team’s collective brilliance in the high-speed SailGP circuit. Their 2025 campaign was marked by tactical precision and record-breaking speeds, proving their mastery of the F50 foiling catamaran.
• Future Impact – Gitana 18: A new category for this edition, this award was given to the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 18). It recognizes the 32-meter trimaran as the project most likely to shape the future of offshore sailing through its “perfect flight” capabilities and advanced Y-foil technology.

Innovation & Sustainability

• Innovation Technology – Evolo: Evolo was honored for its breakthrough in foiling propulsion and design. The award highlights their technical advancement in creating efficient, stable flight systems that can be applied beyond competitive racing into broader maritime sectors.
• Sustainability – Avel Minilab: Recognized for their LMPAEK™ innovation, Avel Minilab produced recyclable hydrofoils. By utilizing thermoplastic composites instead of traditional thermosets, they have created a scalable solution to reduce the environmental footprint of high-performance marine parts.

Projects and Events

• Project – Ferrari Hypersail: This collaboration between Ferrari and naval architect Guillaume Verdier is a 100-foot flying monohull. It won for its revolutionary “three points of contact” flight system and its commitment to being entirely energy self-sufficient, using no combustion engines.
• Event – Défi Wind – Gruissan: Known as the “Woodstock of Windsurfing,” this event was celebrated for its massive scale and inclusivity. In 2025, it successfully integrated wingfoiling into its legendary long-distance marathon format, bringing over 1,500 participants together on a single starting line.

Both of these winners represent the “bleeding edge” of the industry—one focusing on pure speed and prestige, the other on the long-term survival of the marine environment.

Ferrari Hypersail: The “F1 of the Ocean”

The Ferrari Hypersail is a 100-foot (30-meter) foiling monohull designed by Guillaume Verdier in collaboration with Ferrari’s Formula 1 engineers. This project isn’t just a boat; it’s a laboratory for aerodynamic and hydrodynamic synergy.

• Three-Point Flight System: Unlike traditional foiling yachts that often struggle with stability in rougher seas, the Hypersail uses a proprietary “tripod” lift system. This allows the vessel to maintain a stable flight altitude even at high speeds, significantly reducing the “pitch and roll” usually associated with large foiling craft.
• Zero-Emission Logic: One of the most radical technical specs is the total absence of a combustion engine. All onboard systems—from the massive hydraulic pumps required to move the foils to the electronic navigation suites—are powered by a combination of high-density lithium-ion batteries and hydro-generation (using the water’s flow to spin turbines while sailing).
• Carbon-Fiber Architecture: Using Ferrari’s expertise in composites, the hull uses a variable-density carbon weave that provides maximum stiffness at the foil “knees” while remaining incredibly light in the bow to improve take-off speeds.

Avel Minilab: The LMPAEK™ Revolution

While most high-performance foils are made of carbon fiber bonded with epoxy (which is nearly impossible to recycle), Avel Minilab won the Sustainability Award for proving there is a “circular” way to fly.

• The Material (LMPAEK): They utilize Low Melt Polyaryletherketone, a high-performance thermoplastic. Unlike traditional “thermoset” resins that “bake” into a permanent shape, LMPAEK can be re-melted.
• The Recycling Loop: At the end of a foil’s lifespan, or if a foil is damaged, the material can be shredded, melted down, and re-molded into new parts without losing its structural integrity. This effectively eliminates the “landfill legacy” of the foiling industry.
• Production Efficiency: Because this material doesn’t require the lengthy “curing” times of traditional carbon fiber, Avel Minilab can produce foils faster and with less energy consumption during the manufacturing phase, reducing the overall carbon footprint of each unit by an estimated 30-40%.

Technical Comparison

Visit Foiling Awards Home Page at https://foilingawards-halloffame.org/ for more information