A first interim goal has been reached in the fight against the general foil ban in Saxony. Shortly before Christmas, the crowdfunding campaign exceeded the 10,000 euro mark. "An amount that we can definitely work with," initiator Philipp Kümpel told surf. However, donations are still needed in order to successfully challenge the ban: "We are expecting 14,000 euros in the first round," says Kümpel.
With the donations so far behind them, he and three fellow campaigners filed a lawsuit against the ban at the Dresden Administrative Court on 23 December with the help of a Cologne-based lawyer. "The aim of the lawsuit is to overturn the foil ban as a whole, regardless of whether the foil is used for wind foiling, wing foiling, kite foiling or under a SUP." As, according to the initiative, the Saxon authorities are suggesting that a nationwide ban be initiated, success in the proceedings is important for all foilers in Germany!
According to the plaintiffs, financial support is the best way for athletes to campaign against a foil ban. "It is also potentially possible to join this lawsuit. However, this will only help if a new type of interest can be established. In other words, there is no advantage in including another wingfoiler or windfoiler, as this does not establish a new categorical interest. On the other hand, it could make sense to include a surf school or a manufacturer of foils, for example, as such interests have not yet been covered by us five plaintiffs."
Donations can still be made via PayPal on the website of the Surf and Kite Club Leipzig (SKVL).
Alternatively, you can use the SKVL account:
- Recipient: Surf and Kite Club Leipzig e.V.
- BIC: GENODEF1LVB
- IBAN: DE73 8609 5604 0308 0345 93
- Subject: Donation for lawsuit against foil ban
Absurd arguments of the authorities
In the meantime three fines of a good 80 euros each served. The justification for the warning sounds downright absurd: "...buoyancy-increasing board attachments or conversions mean that these technical measures can significantly increase the achievable speeds and thus the tendency to danger compared to conventional surfboards. When wing foiling on the day of the offence, speeds of up to 40 km/h can be reached, depending on the foil even more, which means that this sport has a corresponding risk potential and - like kitesurfing, for example - is prohibited."
The inclined surf reader, who perhaps measures his own speed with his GPS watch from time to time, will probably have smiled. A quick glance at various ranking lists with speed records would have been enough for the ministry officials to realise that this claim is simply false and cannot be substantiated with any data.
A few months ago, the surf editorial team sent a long email to the ministry with facts and assessments on the subject of the risk of injury when foiling, also offering to provide an objective view on the subject with our expertise from many tests, riding technique seminars, observations in the scene and in competitive sports. They thanked us kindly for the letter - and that was that.
There are no statistics on the risk of injury when foiling - for oneself or even compared to other water sports enthusiasts such as swimmers or divers. Perhaps this is because there is no significantly increased risk of injury, especially to others. It is doubtful that a cut, which you can undoubtedly sustain from unfortunate contact with your own foil, is enough to ban an entire water sports discipline - and an Olympic one at that - across the board.
