Johan Søe and Femke van der Veen win IFCA Foil Slalom World Championship in Alaçati

The International Funboard Class Association (IFCA) held its world championships in the foil slalom and fin slalom disciplines from 12 to 17 August. The venue was the Turkish coastal town of Alacati near Izmir. As a class of the World Sailing Association, the IFCA is authorised to award official world championship titles. With a total of 19 participants, the starting field was nevertheless manageable. Unfortunately, the wind conditions put a spanner in the works for the fin classification, with only foil races being held in 10-15 knots.

Perfect start for Johan Søe

The first day of competition began with a skippers' meeting, where schedules and safety instructions were explained. Due to the light wind conditions, the race organisers decided to start with the foil slalom. The competition structure saw the top four riders from each heat progress to the semi-finals, from where qualification for the A final (places 1-8), B final (places 9-16) or C final took place. In the Open class, Johan Søe from Denmark put in a dominant performance right from the start, winning both eliminations on the first day. This put him at the top of the overall standings early on, followed by Bob Burgt from the Netherlands in second place and Hugo Sjoburg from Sweden in third.

Continuation of foil dominance

After a rest day, the wind conditions on the third day were again rather restrained at 10 to 15 knots, which again favoured the foil slalom. At the end of the third elimination, the first cancellation came into effect. Johan Søe was not fazed by this and continued his impressive series. A total of four eliminations were held in the Open class, and the Danish top favourite actually won every single race - a perfect performance that secured him the world championship title with aplomb.

Strong placings for the Netherlands and France

Behind the dominant Dane, Sem Stroosma from the Netherlands secured second place in the overall standings. Frenchman Benoît Merc completed the podium in third place. The best German-speaking participant was Maxi Räuchle in tenth place overall. In the Open class, the women started together with the men. Femke van der Veen from the Netherlands came out on top here, finishing twelfth overall. Turkish riders Zeynep Hacudi and Elif Ercan finished 14th and 15th respectively, completing the women's podium.

Junior classes with international winners

There were also exciting competitions in the junior categories. Frenchman Sacha Fortune came out on top in the men's junior/youth category. He started the World Championships with a convincing victory, showing both speed and precision in the gybes. In the meantime, he was challenged by Denmark's Kasper Nielsen, who won the second elimination and briefly took the lead. In the end, however, Fortune was able to defend his title. The Italian Matteo Della Fiorentina secured third place with consistently good results.

Turkish defending champion Damla Kurtdemir dominated the women's junior/youth category. She won her category with two commanding victories ahead of her compatriots Melis Bas and Nisa Ustundag. It is worth noting that only Turkish riders competed in this category, which emphasises the strength of young Turkish riders in foil slalom.

Supporting programme and atmosphere

The World Championship kicked off with a festive opening ceremony in Alaçati. Welcome speeches were given by representatives of Vakkorama, Resit Ardar from MYGA Surf City, IFCA class representative Tine Slabe and the IFCA class president. In a symbolic act, the president personally presented yellow class stickers to the reigning world champions, identifying them as the athletes to beat. The evening ended with a relaxed barbecue in the Surf Garden Café, where athletes and officials could get to know each other before the competition week. Throughout the event, a live stream ensured that fans worldwide could follow the exciting races. The atmosphere on Alaçati beach was characterised by high-class foil slalom racing with close and tactical races.

Results IFCA Foil Slalom World Championship Alaçati 2025:

Open Foil:

• 1st Johan Søe (Denmark)
• 2nd Sem Stroosma (Netherlands)
• 3. Benoît Merc (France)
• 10th Maxi Räuchle (Germany)

Women Foil:

• 1st Femke van der Veen (Netherlands): 12th place in the Open classification
• 2nd Zeynep Hacudi (Turkey): 14th place in the Open classification
• 3rd Elif Ercan (Turkey): 15th place in the Open classification

Junior/Youth Men:

• 1st Sacha Fortune (France)
• 2. Kasper Nielsen (Denmark)
• 3 Matteo Della Fiorentina (Italy)

Junior/Youth Women:

• 1 Damla Kurtdemir (Turkey)
• 2. Melis Bas (Turkey)
• 3. Nisa Ustundag (Turkey)

You can find the complete list of results here HERE.