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Roo said..

bel29 said..
Probably more pros at the Defi than in Fuerte this year already. But no wind.

Never understood why the Defi wasn't part of the PWA calendar, everyone is there and they have a huge crowd. FD's Waverally is ideal for the Slalom X circuit. Add events at Tarifa, The Gorge, Lake Garda, Pozo and it would be an incredible tour.

in terms of overall brand exposure Defi -- and similar 'grassroots' type events elsewhere -- has long surpassed PWA. while it is premature to say whether Phantom's exit from the PWA is the beginning of the end, it surely is a serious warning sign. it will certainly take some new ideas to give it a longer-term chance of survival. while I personally think the racing in Tenerife is super exciting, with only 20 (male) riders on the start line it is getting very thin...

Yeah, i wouldn't look too far into the idea that one brands exit from PWA is the beginning of the end of anything, regardless of who was responsible for the exit. Phantom may have just decided that it wasn't a worthwhile marketing strategy to be s part of it (they wouldn't be the only ones to think that way).



but it's a good time to look at the direction that we are going in with windsurfing. It all started from nothing, it takes a lot of gravitational force to get it back to nothing. There are enough people with a heavily vested interest, both financial and deep seated in the sport for it to die completely. It maybe more a time of a "thinning of the herd".

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Subsonic said..
Yeah, i wouldn't look too far into the idea that one brands exit from PWA is the beginning of the end of anything, regardless of who was responsible for the exit. Phantom may have just decided that it wasn't a worthwhile marketing strategy to be s part of it (they wouldn't be the only ones to think that way).

"From reading the room" based on posts by both Phantom and the PWA and looking at the wind foiling marketing in general (available gear, changes in gear year on year) I would say they were hoping for more sales to pay their PWA fees. But looking at the market I would be surprised if wind foiling survives beyond IQ and PWA racing.

I looked at few online shops across Europe yesterday. Without mentioning specific brands the top prices for foil slalom boards topped out at AU$6,200! A decent race foil set will cost between AU$ 4,000 and $10,500 (yes, the that's not an error, Phantoms race foil kit costs that much). Race sails are around AU$2,000 to $3,000 each. I can't see too many people beyond some hard core racers dropping that much coin on gear that's more or less outdated after a year... or so would some brands have us believe.

Also, speaking of Foils, what happened to the foil racing... just Sylt and Japan (tbc) on the schedule for foil....

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stehsegler said..
... But looking at the market I would be surprised if wind foiling survives beyond IQ and PWA racing.

I looked at few online shops across Europe yesterday. Without mentioning specific brands the top prices for foil slalom boards topped out at AU$6,200! A decent race foil set will cost between AU$ 4,000 and $10,500 (yes, the that's not an error, Phantoms race foil kit costs that much). Race sails are around AU$2,000 to $3,000 each. I can't see too many people beyond some hard core racers dropping that much coin on gear that's more or less outdated after a year... or so would some brands have us believe.

It depends where you live. If you looked at my local, you'd think freeride windsurfing was pretty much dead. No one has bought a new short board in years. All the coin has gone to something with a foil with windfoil still chugging along. We're inland and 80% of our sessions are under 20 kts with mostly flat water. If you make the argument that wingfoil is going to replace windfoil, then it's challenging to argue against it replacing 85% of windsurfing, too. Even places in the US which are notoriously shallow have a lot of wings.

As for prices, for any enthusiast sport at the pointy end, it won't come cheap since we live in a world of carbon fiber, titanium, etc. (Look at the top of the line bicycles. The price range of bikes at the top pro level range from $9k-15k USD . Of course, no one is obligated to live at that end of the spectrum, more affordable foils are available and, for 90% of us, good enough. The product cycle isn't as bad either. Phantom, for example, has been on a two year cycle for years. And in foiling, two boards cover from 6-30+ kts

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berowne said..
Also, speaking of Foils, what happened to the foil racing... just Sylt and Japan (tbc) on the schedule for foil....

Guadeloupe (completed) was foil, too. A significant part of the PWA youth calendar appears to include foil, too: Aruba and Bonaire(completed); Denmark, Alacati and Miami (to come). Of course, we all would love to see more.