Seven questions for Luca Rizzotti

In early May, we teamed up with We Are Foiling, which led us to the 10th edition of Foiling Week. We asked a few questions to Mr. Foiling Week himself, Luca Rizzotti!

Can you share the inspiration behind founding Foiling Week, We Are Foiling, and The Foiling Organization? What motivated you to create these platforms?

About ten years ago I found myself looking at the first moths, on the one hand, and the America's Cup foiling catamarans, on the other. There is a world in between, I said to myself, and here I am.

Foiling Week has become a global event celebrating foiling in various sailing disciplines. How do you see the future of foiling and its impact on the sailing community?

Foiling is experiencing exponential development, it is an irreversible path, just look at how many foiling Olympic classes there will be at the next Games and how many World Sailing Special Events are already being run with foiling boats.

 Could you elaborate on how the collaboration with Vakaros came about and the goals you aim to achieve together?

We like to engage in partnerships that bring value to the participants. Foiling Week operates as a collaborative platform, creating a positive cycle where the marine industry tests and develops products with end-users. The Race Sense platform simplifies the management of complex events involving multiple foiling classes and courses.

The foiling community has grown significantly in recent years. In your opinion, what are the key factors contributing to this growth, and how do organizations like Foiling Week play a role in fostering it?

I like to think that the growth of the foiling community is also the result of our commitment and the role we have taken on over the past ten years. There are many factors behind the growth of foiling, but I think the most important one is its unquestionable sustainability.

We Are Foiling focuses on providing educational content and resources. How do you envision these efforts contributing to the broader sailing community's understanding and appreciation of foiling?

We Are Foiling is a complex system that seeks to address foiling from all possible angles in order to speak to the widest possible range of audiences. From the racing festival of Foiling Week to the university world of the SuMoth Challenge, from the Film Festival to the entire industry through The Foiling Organization.

About the Foiling Organization, can you share some upcoming projects or goals you have for the organization in the near future?

The Foiling Technology Pavilion at METSTRADE was our first big step. We are preparing to open our continental headquarters in Genoa in early 2024 and organize a first ever global foiling congress with our members and the representatives of the foiling industry. Exciting times ahead!

Foiling technology continues to evolve. What trends or innovations do you anticipate will have a significant impact on the foiling community in the coming years?

I think we have to look at the same time at research into materials, the development of new ways of using them and the growing need for tools that can analyze the situation and suggest solutions. These are factors that I believe are inextricably linked.