UKWA foiling season opens at Stokes Bay, busy spring racing ahead

Light, shifty winds did not stop the foils at Stokes Bay. The UK Windsurfing Association’s season opener on April 18 and 19 still delivered multiple races for Foil, iQFOiL and Wing classes, with course racing and slalom both getting onto the water despite the classic British breeze. For anyone building a points chase or trying to get a first proper race weekend under the belt, this was the one that mattered first.

The Stokes Bay event was Round 1 of the 2026 National Championships, and the structure from here is already clear. Round 2 lands at Lee on the Solent Sailing Club from May 23 to 25, with all fleets, including WingFoil, back on the card. Round 3 follows at Whitwell, Rutland Water on June 6 and 7, again with all fleets included and Foil classes listed as iQFOiL, Formula Foil and Freeride Foil. If you are chasing national ranking mileage, these are the spring dates to lock in now.

The class rules also matter. The 2026 notice of race says the series will run under the Racing Rules of Sailing 2025 to 2028, along with World Sailing’s Wing Foiling Racing rules. That puts foiling fully inside the mainstream race framework, which is exactly what experienced racers want when they are comparing fleets, planning equipment and deciding whether to focus on Foil, WingFoil or the faster iQFOiL and Formula Foil lanes.

The domestic calendar also feeds directly into the international circuit. In Leucate, the IFCA Grand Slam Fin and Foil Slalom Worlds ran from April 22 to April 26 at the Mondial du Vent, with 162 athletes from 20 nations racing for 10 world titles. Foil racing there began in light, shifting winds and later continued in 9 to 11 knots, the kind of range that rewards riders who can keep speed through messy pressure. Scotty Stallman’s early results stood out in that mix.

The speed sailors are not waiting around either. The International Speed Windsurfing Class World Championships in La Palme start on April 27 and run through May 6, placing another major foil and speed target immediately after Leucate. UKWA’s own spring message is that the season is not just about racing, but about keeping the whole structure alive. It remains volunteer-run, and the association is again putting £15 from every Techno and iQFOiL junior and youth entry into the class pathway. That is the real story behind the calendar: Stokes Bay was the opener, but Lee on the Solent, Whitwell, Leucate and La Palme are the tests that will shape the rest of the spring.