New equipment provides a stay of execution for windsurfing and makes for more excitement at Olympic Games

An additional foil underneath will increase speed and is set to provide windsurfing with the chance to survive another Olympic programme cull in May.

A working party within World Sailing has suggested the men’s and women’s windsurfing events, plus the men and women’s two-person dinghy (470 class) and the men’s one-person dinghy heavyweight will have to go through a review process to decide if they can stay.

There are 10 classes on the Olympic sailing programme and the remaining five including the men’s and women’s 49er, laser (men’s), laser radial (women’s) and nacra 17 (mixed) are safe for the 2024 Games.

“We are quite confident our event can stay in the Olympics,” said Dennis Chau Wai-keung, executive director of the Hong Kong Windsurfing Association. “Windsurfing fits every requirement as an Olympic event – youth appeal, universality, diversity and media appeal. But we understand there may be some changes to the equipment to make the event more exciting.”

Chau said a convertible version of windsurfing board is being tested, adding a foil underneath to minimise the friction so that the speed can be bolstered. “It takes about 10-knots of wind to make the foil work, making the event more exciting and appealing to the audience,” said Chau. “It is ready in the market and we have also bought two sets to trial.”

The working party hinted in its report that windsurfing would stay but with the addition of equipment, saying: “ ... the two windsurfing events should be placed under review not necessarily to remove windsurfing from the 2024 event programme but to enable a review of the windsurfing event and equipment.”