Will Foiling become a Division at your next Surf Comp?

Since the first video of Kai Lenny foiling on his SUP hit the internet, people all over the world are fascinated by hydrofoils on craft that don't use the wind for propulsion. While Lenny used his foil initially for downwind paddling on his SUP, he quickly took it out into the waves and went surfing on it, as did many others. This form of the sport seems to have stuck.

SUP Foil Surfing (or whatever it's going to be called) is becoming the go-to discipline for those just trying out the foil. Have you heard, or seen of many others trying out foils on a downwinder? Not really, Lenny did it, Connor Baxter copied it, Lenny did those crossings last month to raise awareness for rubbish in our oceans, and that's about it.

Surfing on the other hand? Everyones into it, Laird Hamilton was snapped this week in France absolutely RIPPING with a mate in a crowded beachbreak lineup. People are DIY building surf foils for their little 8ft surf SUPs, and you can't buy a GoFoil without pre-ordering one from your local SUP store. Surf is where it's at, and nobody expected it to be!

With popularity comes competition, and competition breeds better athletes. So considering the fact that hydrofoils can catch tiny waves, link up two, three or four waves at once, and float over/around huge sections, could this become a new discipline at surf comps? Watching Laird surf his GoFoil in France this week says yes, as he carves around entire sections, threads his way through other surfers and pumps back out to link up a couple of waves.

What do you think of judged surf comps with hydrofoils? Have your say over in the Stand Up Paddle Forums.