Pensacola will host the 2026 WASZP Games! For the first time in WASZP history, the WASZP Games will head to North America in 2026. The US and Canadian Swarms have grown quickly in recent years and have hosted flourishing fleets in all areas of the continent. The time is finally right to head to the States for WASZP’s premier competition…and where better to go than the country’s hottest new foiling venue?
Pensacola, home of the American Magic America’s Cup team and host of the American leg of Foiling Week, is soaring in popularity as a world-class foiling base. Located in the Northwest corner of Florida, Pensacola Bay is warm year-round and delivers reliable thermal breezes, especially in the spring months. Protected from the Gulf of Mexico by a network of peninsulas and sandbars, the bay offers flat water in all directions – perfect for WASZP class racing.
Since the arrival of Amercian Magic, the secret of Pensacola is out! The venue is set to host Foiling Week in late February 2025 where it is hoped to become a staple of the annual American sailing calendar. As always, the WASZP class is a major contributor to the Foiling Week regatta where, in 2025, the event will form the WASZP North American Championship.
In March 2026, the WASZP class goes one better by delivering the WASZP Games in Pensacola!
The event is set to break records as the biggest ever fleet of foiling boats to race in the Americas! As well as competitors from North America, the event will be populated by sailors from all over the world. New swarms are emerging in the Caribbean and South America, as well as the established European and Australasian fleets. The time of year is particularly favourable for Europeans, who can affordably ship their boats during the European winter, race in Foiling Week and the WASZP Games and have their boats back in Europe for a summer of competition, including the European Games.
The 2026 WASZP Games in Pensacola is the pinnacle of the US WASZP Winter Series, which makes its official debut this winter. The winter series consists of annual events in Clearwater (thanksgiving), Miami (Orange Bowl) and closes with Foiling Week in Pensacola in 2025, then, in 2026 we start the year with midwinters at Jensen Beach before the Games in 2026. The 2024/25 and 2025/26 Winter Series’ are the perfect opportunities to maximise training and racing time for all North American sailors and for those looking to test the Floridian waters in the lead up to Pensacola 2026.
“WASZP and Pensacola are leading brands in global foiling. When the opportunity to run a massive event together presents itself, we simply have to do it. The class is making huge leaps in North America. Running the 2026 Games in Pensacola will continue to expand the global footprint of the class, but most importantly, takes WASZP sailors to bucket-list venues where they can enjoy the best sailing experience on the planet.”
