The new SLALOM X Format is EPIC! 😍

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[@thomasbohn5034]

Great review. Agree with everything you said. I just came back from a week at the Gorge in Oregon. Epic fin conditions with big swell to ride and jump. Nothing compares. Slalom X needs the right conditions and fortunately Pozo delivered. Somehow packaging the product for the general public to enjoy is the key. They are not going sit for hours watching a live stream day after day like we do😁 I don’t drive F1 cars but enjoy the racing and the drama. Windsurfing needs to tap into that format. Let’s follow the tour for a season and sell it to Netflix🙏 There is certainly enough great content on and off the water to make for a great show. Cheers.

[@sharewavestv]

That was the hammer as we say in Germany! Great action! Fantastic way to display this awesome sport. Highwind blasting on a fin never gets boring PS: Moin Nils ✌🏼

[@jameselks1529]

Total agree, great overview. As a wave sailor I was throughly entertained by high wide fin slalom. Because of the wave format this year I think the slalom up staged the wave event. No complaints m, excellent event and so what windsurfing needs. Especially with sad news of Fiji wave event cancelled. So much so I’ve just ordered new slalom kit that I’ve not used in years !!

[@antoinehanekom4689]

Good review and summary. The one thing missing is digitally overlaying rider identification on top of the drone footage. That will connect rider / brand associations with marketing which is how the sport will grow by drawing in non-traditional sponsorship. I agree that fin windsurfing naturally appeals to a wider audience because most non windsurfers ( and non traditional sponsors) can understand and relate to how a fin works. The colour, movement, and splashing on top of the water combined with chop, waves, and obstacles makes it visually appealing and exciting to watch on screen.

[@francoisf195]

I had a lot of doubts about slalom X in the beginning, but I have to say it was fantastic to watch. Probably one of the best events I saw since many years!

[@mjoosterhuis]

It was an amazing event. However, to “save the sport” the enthusiastic “older” generation with kids needs to try to attract the intrest of the young ones into windsurfing. Especially in the beginning when learning it is not always super interesting for the kids it can be quite an investment in time and energy, but it is well worth it. Recently my 14 year old was properly planing for the first time, and my 11 year old came close. Great to see the smiles on their faces ;-)

[@user-oe1mb9hu9i]

Windsurfing and Foiling are two different sports that are practiced on the water with similar looking gear. That's about all. One demands time effort and skill, the other demands a little perseverance for 2 days... The harder it is the fewer people will actually try to get better. Simples. Windsurfing was VERY popular and then killed it'self with short waveboards and media that ONLY promoted short boards that 80% of the world couldn't use on their local spots. Foiling: You are correct. Easy (Like getting to go on a longboard in the 80's), but if you want to foil correctly it will take several years and the equipment has to be developed which is expensive. The first foils for windsurfing were good fun but incredibly slow and there was no tilting them over to put pressure on them for speed. They had to be perfectly level with the surface of the water. Wingfoil = EASY - BUT the most important thing for wingfoilers is the SIZE of the equipment. It all fits into a micro car ... Its inflatable and its light. Windsurfing and Foiling are two different sports that are practiced on the water with similar looking gear. That's about all.

[@slickvisualpoetry]

@@user-oe1mb9hu9i No.

[@elmanuel472]

I see fin and foil as a great mix in such events. The beauty of simplicity on the one side, the cutting edge of tech and efficiency on the other side. Like rallye and Formula one!

[@tadejpeckaj1151]

And the Slalom X was great to watch!

[@martinwild843]

Broadcast from the drone helps a lot to capture the action 👍🤙

[@kenzephyr]

Good review Nils and absolutely addictive to watch Slalom X -. The drone made it even better as that shows how brutal the wind and chop were 🤙🏼

[@looplessa1]

@Nils I would also dive into the cost factor. I gather foils for the top guys can cost $4-5K - that prices a lot of people out of foil racing.

[@PWAWORLDTOUR]

Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jfdube6669]

I agree with you Nils, Slalom X is very exciting and it gives an opportunity to show the real talent of those athetes, Bravo to Bjorn Donkerbeck and his crew, also thanks to Ben Proffitt for his comments, it brings the true flavor of the competition, hopefully we'l lhave more of those events, cause watching foil slalom is kind of boring.

[@TKM11370]

The coverage is what made the comp for everyone other than the riders... It was epic.

[@xalslookfish6627]

More drones = more show 👌👌👌

[@LukeRobinson-z6b]

Thank you for the review and summary. I agree it was very entertaining and I loved it.

[@windwavewinter]

Thoroughly enjoyed your astute insights into Slalom X and how to grow interest in windsurfing among "non-surfers" 👌 maybe at the end of your videos you could add on overview of up-coming windsurfing events and recommend via which channels to watch them? Would be a great help for those of us who'd like to watch Slalom X in real time but keep missing out on the dates because, you know, life and distractions and stuff ;) :)

[@PWAWORLDTOUR]

Coming up from the 30th July in Fuerteventura- starting at 13:30 local time - subscribe to the channel to get notifications when we go live ☺️

[@windwavewinter]

@@PWAWORLDTOUR Thanks, will do! ☺☺☺

[@andersjuul8310]

Interesting perspectives even for a beginner -- your videos are appreciated!

[@Mr4xl]

It was great to watch. . . . . Exciting. . . . Unfortunately foiling lacks what we just witnessed at pozo

[@soulzerosix]

Pozo slalom was amazing to watch. The drone gets the viewer right into the action, plus conditions were absolutely full on. The sausage seems a bit gimmicky to me and also a high risk feature, bit it does add to the drama. I find the cascade a much nicer feature, as it does not ask anything unusual from the racers but does add some variety.

[@windonwater3895]

Nils. I think your analysis is great and agree with just about everything you said. It would also be interesting to compare the cost of foiling vs fin sailing. I sail fin only but I would think a foil alone is close to $1,000 where a fin is around $100?? Thanks again.

[@MarioKuempel]

Was epic watching it!

[@tadejpeckaj1151]

Yeah.. this was an awesome event!

[@peter-cal]

i agree, the event was really fun to watch. Foil is a bit boring to watch 😅

[@lazslostpierre9951]

Johannes Hertel did a great job on the drone. Nice review Nils!

[@rikiwind9199]

Excelente!! Yo espero que salgan nuevas tablas como en los 2007 JP (super cross) y mas...slalom X . No me gustaba mezclar foil con fin.

[@Hydrosurf_]

Exciting racing

[@bradmurdaugh5228]

Agreed the slalom x only added to the action. Great job with rolling this out and can't wait to see how it develops.

[@seantaylor4939]

Great overview 👍🏼

[@leisepinkler]

Cooles Racing. Super Livestream und spannende Rennen

[@alasdair1571]

Good explanation

[@Tobias1949]

I am a super average windsurfer. But I feel like an ambassador for the sport. I would like to know how to promote it better.

[@bagomoyo]

windsurfing race isn’t fun to watch without wakes and splashes! I’m however still waiting PWA to reintroduce surf slalom races they did in ‘80s with 50+kt wind & mast high surf😝

[@captainashcam]

What was the similar event about 20 years ago? I think there was a sausage jump and a duck gybe?

[@sharewavestv]

That was Super X with obstacles, mandatory speedloop, duck jibe and a final sprint up the beach to the finish line… First winner was Kauli Seadi

[@vardenispavardenis2318]

pozo was super fun to watch

[@jos_t_band3912]

It was spectacular

[@phil95kiff12]

Great review !

[@stefanoneri4475]

fin is fin

[@mintoxace5571]

Yeah, it’s back because the old guys couldn’t handle the young guys coming along and kicking their arse on Foils, so they had a young guy (that didn’t even sail all of the events last year and still beat them) disqualified because a sail that he had on the beach and hadn’t even used in the competition was apparently a little bit outside of production spec. Talk about sour grapes.

[@pawepro6994]

He was using it as Matteo explained in his video.

[@slickvisualpoetry]

@@pawepro6994 Matteo, is a sore loser. Always has been. The way he stood there with the trophy... I had to be sick in my mouth for a little bit.

[@user-sc3xm5lc4z]

⁠@@slickvisualpoetryyou are sick for standing up for a sore loser that cheats... where was he on pozo? where was his great great young gun skills??? there are not much old guys left competing in pwa, but seeing ignorent people like you hooliganing about the stuff that you dont even have a slightest idea what you are defending is kind of concerning... you guys shouldnt be interested in sports.. go for politics , lie steal and defend those who do, you would be much succesfull.

[@tuurvandenbroeck1230]

Foil is dead now😆😆😆 FIN ARMY

[@slickvisualpoetry]

I see your point, but in terms of making windsurfing more accessible to the general public, fin or foil doesn't make a difference. If anything, I found foiling in Pozo more exciting, because people might explode on the last reach. Fin windsurfing is a show put on for nostalgic, older windsurfers. You are kind of contradicting yourself with your first and second point.

[@cjeslicabaas3729]

Well here you see that especially older surfers go foiling or wing foiling. It’s is less physical, so the older people can do a longer session. So here we say foiling is for old people. The feeling of fin surfing is totally different compared to foiling. Fin surfing is much more exciting. After a good sessies. For 24 hours you have a smile in your face (can’t wash it of😄). Most young people go fin surfing, a smaller groep want’s to foiling but go back to fin surfing again. Only those who wants to compete has to foil. Not because they liked is but because they have to due the reglements. On the beach hearing people (spectators) talk about foiling or fin. First they are impressed that the foils come out of the water. After a while they loose attention. It’s boring to look at. Same with the foiling competition, it’s boring to look at. Doing a bit the same. Fin surfing never gets boring. Foiling (and ice surfing) does get boring after a while.

[@slickvisualpoetry]

@@cjeslicabaas3729 this is wrong on so many levels. Look at Søe, Becker, Goyard... I fully switched about two years ago, ended up on a spot for windsurfing this summer where it is a hassle to go foiling and there is usually enough wind for fin windsurfing. I had to go back to fin windsurfing for a bit and I find that quite boring. It's easier to control, the courses you can sail are much more limited and on the foil I feel like I am on the edge much quicker.

[@cjeslicabaas3729]

It is not wrong. It is what it is. Here more old people go foiling. Mostly wing foiling. What is wrong, is to frame fin surfing as old. And old is not cool. Soccer is old and see how many young kids want to play soccer. So nothing is wrong with a sport that already many years exist. A feeling is personal, some like this other that. That’s fine. But at the moment that’s not happening. It look like you have to choose between fin or foil. Why???? If you like the exiting feeling of the fin. Please continue. If you like the more relaxing feeling of the foil. Please continue. If you like the practical aspects of wing foiling (and kite-surfing) please continue. It’s al good if you have fun. So you don’t have to promote one or the other. I am not totally naive and know that the companies pushes that wat make more money. And yes they can make more money on foiling That’s why most off al competitions are now on foiling (lobby) at least they think they can make more money. On the long run, foiling can be the dead sentence of windsurfing. Look at your own experience. You switch over to fin surfing again and it was not what you expected and may stop surfing totally. Btw you mentioned that you had to much control. Well then you had a wrong board (or sail or fin). It says more about the setup you choose than about fin surfing in general.