How should the RS:X windsurfer evolve? Should it stick to a conservative One Design concept, or should it move forward to high-tech grounds? The answer might be hidden in a low-profile video released by both RS:X class and NeilPryde.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games have just finished, but the windsurfing lobby wants to make sure the sport will continue to take part in the Olympic movement.
The RS:X class teamed up with NeilPryde to launch a promotional video featuring the RS:X Evolution and RS:X Convertible. The joint-venture says that these equipments are "ready for 2020 Olympic Games and beyond."
The RS:X Convertible board weighs is a 120-liter windsurf board equipped with a prepreg carbon foil, a 100 percent carbon boom with integrated trimming system, 100 percent carbon mast, and a double profile four cambers 7.8 sail.
The manufacturer underlines that the Convertible allows racers to "fly with a foil from 5 to 14 knots, or blast with a fin above 14 knots with the same board and the same rig." NeilPryde says that there will be an accessible pathway to the RS:X Convertible - the RS:X One Convertible.
NeilPryde and the RS:X class are trying to make all possibilities available so that World Sailing and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can have all the options on the table before making the final recommendations for Tokyo 2020.
Kiteboarding will once again try to find its space in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Japan, so windsurfing needs to prove it is still a highly competitive sport. A classic fin board and an optional foil board are windsurfing's trump cards for Tokyo 2020.