iQFOiL U23 World Championship comes to Puck, with 150 riders and speeds of up to 60 km/h
The Bay of Puck on the Polish Baltic coast becomes the venue for the iQFOiL Under 23 World Championship from Monday. More than 150 competitors from almost every continent will take part, with racing running until Saturday 3 October. It is the first time Puck has hosted an international championship in the Olympic iQFOiL class. The town already has experience of national events and training camps in the class, and the senior World Championship was held on the same water in June.
In brief
More than 150 sailors from almost every continent are competing in the Under-23 World Championship of the Olympic iQFOiL class on the Bay of Puck, running until Saturday 3 October. The Puck regatta began on Saturday 26 September with registration and equipment measurement, and racing proper started on Monday 28 September. iQFOiL boards fitted with hydrofoils reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. The championship is organised by the Polish Sailing Association and the international iQFOiL class association.
From equipment measurement to the medal series
The regatta formally opens on Saturday 26 September with registration and equipment measurement. A practice race is scheduled for Sunday, doubling as the last training session on the course area.
Racing proper starts on Monday 28 September with a qualifying series, followed by a final series, and on the last day a medal series contested by the top ten women and top ten men from each fleet.
Boards that leave the water at 60 km/h
iQFOiL is a modern windsurfing class, part of the Olympic programme since 2024. The boards are fitted with hydrofoils that lift them clear of the surface, and competitors reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.
It is among the most spectacular disciplines in sailing. The fleet in Puck is made up of riders under 23, in other words junior and youth categories, but the standard is high and includes athletes from the very front of the world rankings.
A bay without waves, but with autumn wind
The Bay of Puck is familiar ground for the Polish squad, which has trained there repeatedly over several seasons.
- We know this water very well. We have sailed here many times, not only this year but in previous years too - says Stanisław Trepczyński, this year's Polish champion and a member of the Sopot Sailing Club.
He adds that autumn conditions suit the class, because as temperatures fall the wind on the bay usually strengthens, while the absence of waves means the result will be decided above all by outright speed. His target for the championship is a medal on home water.
The entry list includes competitors from many European countries as well as riders from Mexico and New Zealand.
The association, the town and World Sailing behind the event
The championship is organised by the Polish Yachting Association and the international iQFOiL class association, with the City of Puck, World Sailing and the Pomeranian Regional Government as co-organisers.
The event is co-financed from the state budget through the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and from the funds of the Pomeranian Regional Government. Honorary patronage has been granted by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and by the Marshal of the Pomeranian Region, Mieczysław Struk.
Partners include Invest Puck, Marina Puck, OSHEE, AG Surf Bay, Hewelt Deweloper, OL-TRANS and Gdynia Maritime University.
Two world championships in a single season
A week of championship racing is not only sport for Puck. More than 150 competitors arrive with coaches, support teams, officials and families, filling accommodation and restaurants outside the season, at a time when seaside towns normally wind down.
For the region something else matters more. The Bay of Puck has spent years building a position as one of the best training venues in this part of Europe, and hosting the senior Worlds in June and the Under 23 Worlds in September of the same season is the clearest confirmation of that.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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