BARCOLANA FUN: THE FIRST CYCLE OF THE FOIL ACADEMY CLOSES IN TRIESTE

Having passed the first two selection phases (Flying and Clinic) of the Next Generation Foil Academy FIV Powered by Luna Rossa, 19 federal athletes from all over Italy met in Trieste for the Barcolana Fun (6/7 October), where they raced aboard Waszp, Skeeta, and iQFOiL and Wing Foil boats, the three Classes chosen by the Italian Sailing Federation to introduce very young people to "flying" sailing.

This two-day event of scenic foil sailing, dedicated to the top under-19 federal athletes participating in the Academy, was divided as follows: on October 6th the young sailors participated in the sea trials to familiarize with the race course, sailing from the Società Velica Barcola e Grignano to the stretch of water facing the Barcolana village; on the 7th they took part in a 'show regatta' without ranking, in which they had the opportunity to sail competitively against opponents of a similar level and test the top speeds of these boats, which turned out to be a truly spectacular show: Mattia Cesana touched 20.7 knots aboard the Waszp, Francesco Capuzzo reached 21.5 knots on the Wing Foil, while Mattia Saoncella came close to 25 knots (24.6) on the iQFOiL.

At the end of the regatta, the athletes were welcomed at the Salone degli Incanti in Trieste by Olympic champion Alessandra Sensini, coordinator of the foil sailing development program, created with the aim of promoting this discipline among youth sailors, to enhance their techniques and skills.

Giulio Giovanella, logistic manager of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and native of Trieste, was also on stage with them and was very impressed by the preparation and determination of the youngsters: «I watched the “show regatta” that was raced with 15 knots and flat sea and I was amazed both by the precision with which the athletes rigged their boats and by their ability at sea and the way they rounded the marks; they are passionate, in love with the sea and determined to become complete all-round sailors; this is why many of them sail in more than one class, alternating "traditional" boats and foils. I am sure that some talents will emerge from this group that we will want to keep an eye on for the future...».

Francesco Ettorre, President of the Italian Sailing Federation, said: «We gave ourselves an important appointment, that of Barcolana, to take stock of the Next Generation Foil Academy Powered by Luna Rossa. A selection of our youth sailors took part in a show regatta here in Trieste to demonstrate how spectacular flying on water can be. We were able to give this opportunity to a lot of youngsters and we were impressed by several interesting profiles. Our Academy does not stop here: this is just the start of the journey in this great project that will continue with another round of events culminating in Genoa for the Ocean Race next year».

The Next Generation Foil Academy FIV Powered by Luna Rossa will resume immediately with the Flight Test session on 14-16 October at the Società Velica Barcola e Grignano and will soon publish the new calendar with stages that will touch the whole of Italy.