With the first event of the season about to start in Cape Town, the Freestyle Pro Tour is excited to announce its 2024 competition calendar! The successes of the 2023 season are built on, while brand new events are also added to the line up in this all-round freestyle windsurfing tour that reaches outside of the European continent as well. With guaranteed action thanks to the three disciplines, Freestyle, Foilstyle and Tow-In, this year is poised to set a new standard for the professional freestyle scene! Check out the calendar along with more info about the events below:
Triple the fun in Vieste
Big news! The 2024 season will see the first ever triple discipline event on the Freestyle Pro Tour. The EFPT Vieste, between the 21st and the 26th of May, will see athletes compete for points in the Freestyle, Foilstyle and the Tow-In discipline. After a successful Tow-In showcase session in the stunning town of Vieste in 2023, the discipline is now officially added to the European Tow-In Championship. Tow-In In Town just got turned up a notch! Furthermore, moving the event earlier in the year also means a higher probability for high-wind freestyle action in waves, similar to the action we saw during the 2022 edition of this event.
FPT Finals
The 2024 season needs to end somewhere… The addition of the mysterious FPT Finals from the 2nd to the 8th of December will be the culmination of all things freestyle, as well as being the first ever FPT Championship level event. We will keep the location a mystery as we work on the details of this never been done event format. Stay tuned to get the news first!
Third time’s the charm in Geneva
The 2024 EFPT Geneva will bring the Foilstyle and Tow-In discipline back at the Tropical Corner. Moving earlier on the calendar, to the 18th-22nd of September, the event will once again be the final of the Freestyle Pro Tour Foilstyle Championship. At both the 2021 and 2023 edition of the event the tour was very unlucky with the wind conditions, but all eyes are now on this years edition to deliver stunning Foilstyle action with the city of Geneva as a backdrop.
Yentel Caers (JP/NeilPryde) getting some fitting reactions from his opponents at the 2023 EFPT Geneva… Picture by Protography Official
Naxos joins the tour
A new event on the calendar, the 2024 EFPT Naxos is confirmed to take place from the 16th-20th of October in Greece. Home of the freshly baked 2023 European Champion Lennart Neubauer (Starboard/Severne/Maui Ultra Fins), this spot is a dream location to run a freestyle event at. The Freestyle Pro Tour is over the moon to visit Lennart’s training ground and bring you the action as his first year defending his EFPT title will be drawing to a close!
Bonaire raises the stakes
Last season showed the incredible potential of Bonaire as a tour stop for the EFPT. Being the home of so many talented riders, the FPT is excited to announce it is very close to confirming a full continental 8-star tour stop event at Sorobon Beach. Taking place from the 10-14th of April you can expect 5 days of action in front of the Frans Paradise!
Youp Schmit (GA-Sails/Tabou) won the 2023 EFPT Bonaire, can he defend his title in 2024 with more pro’s likely to make the trip to his home island?
Back in the pool at Brouwersdam
The 2023 EFPT Finals in Brouwersdam showed the potential of this legendary freestyle location for an exciting championship battle. Everyone wanted more, and hence the FPT will be back in 2024! Will we see more big ex-competitors make a return to the scene there this year? And how will the mix of pool flatwater and choppy conditions affect the heats that are sailed? You’ll have to wait a couple of months still to find out!
Proving Grounds Series
The PGS was aimed at bringing up new and smaller (often national) events into the freestyle spotlight. With the overwhelmingly positive response to the 2023 series, the FPT is excited to continue collaborating with and supporting freestyle events all over the world. This year the Proving Grounds Series will see it’s cooperation with the German Freestyle Battles and the Danish Open continue, with numerous events on the calendar. The EFPT Austria will also be a PGS event along with the EFPT Vesoul that got introduced last year. Finally, the biggest event on the PGS is of course the Freestyle Pro Tour season opener in Cape Town, for which the holding period is opening tomorrow!
Stay tuned!
As always, there’s more ideas and events in the pipeline! The tour is still working hard on a Women’s event, as well as a Youth event. Stay tuned for more news throughout the year!