NeilPryde is playing its trump card for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The weapon of choice is a small 120-liter windsurfing board with a hydrofoil. It's called RS:X Convertible.
In the early months of 2012, the future of Olympic windsurfing looked doomed, and kiteboarding was gaining ground.
Richard Branson lobbied vigorously for kites, and the governing body for the sport of sailing even voted for the inclusion of the sport in Rio 2016.
Fortunately for the windsurfing community, the decision was reverted.
Four years later, NeilPryde decided to play it safe and unveiled a spectacular new RS:X experimental model for 2024 - that's eight years before the event - at the 2016 World Windsurfing Championships, held in Eilat, Israel.
The host of the 2024 Olympic Games is still unknown. Budapest, Paris, Los Angeles, and Rome are the candidate cities, and, therefore, the official list of sports has not yet been announced.
But NeilPryde's foil windsurfing kit is a tactical maneuver.
The brand wants to make sure the sport keeps its Olympic status, so time and momentum are its strongest allies. The new RS:X Olympic weapon will also be available in the RS:One version.