Tandem surfing: New boards, European Championships in Slovenia - what tandem fans can expect in 2026

The virtual annual general meeting of the Deutsche Tandemsurfer Klassenvereinigung e. V. has sent out positive signals for the upcoming 2026 tandem season. Particularly pleasing: the RWSG Zülpich has made three Windglider tandems ready for use again, which together with another team means a total of four new teams for the association. This reinforcement comes just in time for the club's 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated with a special rookie regatta on the Zülpich water sports lake on 12 July. The club's Lechner TD 570 has also been refloated thanks to Gabi Schlotmann, who procured the necessary spare parts from Georg Lechner. In co-operation with Just Windsurfing Paderborn and other clubs in the west, the class association is expecting a good field of participants for the upcoming events.

The highlight of the season will be the ITCA European Championship, which will take place in the first week of September on the Slovenian Adriatic. The venue is Portoroz, a district of the town of Piran, where the "Pirat" sailing club is organising the event. The experienced club is known for regularly hosting large sailing and windsurfing regattas and is considered to be well equipped and excellently organised. The races will begin on Wednesday, 2 September and run over three days until Friday. Parallel to the tandem surfers, fields of windsurfer LTs and Div. II boards, which are very popular in the region, will also start. The event will conclude with a big party for all participants on Saturday.

Regatta calendar for the 2026 season

The class association has also put together an extensive regatta calendar for the coming season. The Fred Ostermann Cup kicks off on 12 July at the RWSG Zülpich, which is also advertised as a rookie regatta. The Tandem Cup Paderborn, also designed as a rookie regatta, will follow on 9 August. After the European Championships at the beginning of September, the Tenderingsee Tandem Cup on 13 September and the Deutsche Bestenermittlung on the Auesee in Wesel on 20 September are still on the agenda. The season ends with the traditional island marathon on Lake Chiemsee on the first weekend in October, organised by the Chiemsee Surf Club. Entries for this event are submitted via the Manage2sail portal.

Tandem dates 2026

• 12 July: Fred Ostermann Cup, RWSG Zülpich (Rookie Regatta)
• 9 August: Tandemcup Paderborn (Rookie Regatta),
• 2-4 September: ITCA European Championship, Piran (Sailing Club Pirat in Portoroz)
• 13 SeptemberTenderingsee Tandem Cup (Rookie Regatta)
• 20 September: German best in class, Auesee, Wese
• 3-4 October: Island Marathon on Lake Chiemsee (Chiemsee Surf Club)

Info and contact: tandemsurfing.com