Flite Dubai eFoil Festival 2025
An epic crew all together at the end of the Flite Dubai eFoil Festival 2025
The Flite Dubai eFoil Festival 2025 will be remembered as a defining moment in the evolution of competitive e-foiling. Hosted at The8 Hotel on Palm Jumeirah and produced by the eFoil Racing League (EFRL) and hosted by Foil Hub Dubai, the event marked the largest e-foil competition ever staged, bringing together over 60 competitors, representation from 11+ nations, and hundreds of spectators across a packed weekend of racing.
With thousands in prize money, Breitling watches awarded to winners, and a fully developed race format combining practice sessions, time trials, and knockout heats, Dubai set a new standard for what professional eFoil racing can look like on the world stage.
Saturday saw the event kick off with practice runs and time trials, allowing riders to dial in their setups while adapting to the fast, technical course set against the iconic Palm Dubai skyline. From the outset, the level was unmistakably global. Riders arrived from Europe, Australasia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Asia, each bringing distinct racing styles, equipment choices, and tactics.
The time trials immediately highlighted the depth of talent across all divisions. In the Men’s Pro and Women’s Pro categories, margins were tight, foreshadowing a highly competitive knockout phase. Meanwhile, the Men’s Open (Amateur) and Under 16s divisions demonstrated the rapid growth of the sport, with emerging riders pushing speeds and consistency once reserved for the elite.
The Dubai 2025 eFoil Racing League track plan and layout. It is a ‘Wet track’ so that means that this diagram is subject to change on the day, however the rounding and corners will all the same. This years track was easily the most technical track setup to date!
Sunday delivered exactly what eFoil racing promises at its best: high-speed knockout heats, tactical track strategy and race-defining moments decided by centimetres over the Finnish line after the two lap knockout rounds got started in the morning.
In the Men’s Pro division, Spain’s Manel Arpa Zuriguel claimed victory after a commanding final, ahead of Austria’s Clemens Kresser in second and Australia’s Simon Axmann in third. The Men’s Pro field showcased some of the fastest and most refined racing seen to date, underlining the professional depth now present in the discipline.
Justin Chait making is way through the course on the Fliteboard Ultra-R new race setup!
The biggest upset of the event was the current world ranking leader Justin Chait being knocked out in the semi-finals with some controversial rulings over a fall on his race against Clements, cutting close to a marker buoy and hitting the underwater rope, causing him to fall. Falling again going up against Simon Axeman, left Justin off the podium in 4th place. Robbing him of the victory as he was refine the all new Fliteboard Race setup and was easily the event favourite.
The Women’s Pro title went to Sweden’s Agnes Wicander, who delivered a composed and powerful performance to secure the win. She was joined on the podium by Laura Jil Kurmann of the Netherlands in second and Masha Lyanovaof Russia in third, highlighting the truly international reach of women’s e-foil racing.
In the Men’s Open (Amateur) category, Corey Marlatt (USA) took top honours, followed by Konstantin Niebel(Germany) and Ivan Dobrila (Croatia). The depth of the amateur field reinforced the strength of the development pathway feeding into pro racing.
The future of the sport was on full display in the Under 16s, where Kirills Tarasenko (Latvia) claimed first place, ahead of Baptiste Barbier (France) and Andrew Maas (Australia).
Agnes riding her Waydoo eFoil setup to victory in the female category!
More than just a race, the Flite Dubai eFoil Festival 2025 set a blueprint for the future with global participation, professional presentation, meaningful prize pools, and clear progression across age and ability levels. Dubai didn’t just host the world’s biggest eFoil race — it confirmed that e-foil racing has arrived as a serious, international sport.
For the eFoil Racing League, this event represents not a peak, but a starting line.
A great vibe on and off the track. Agnes sporting the efoilsolutions.com racing prop.
Tom Court coming into the high speed section into the straight near the beach with Dubai Back Drop.
Men’s pro podium, with the most hotly contested result yet, there was no room for riding mistakes!
A full efoil racing league global ranking will be published soon, setting the tone for the ultimate world ranking system to push the sport of efoil racing into the future. Driving innovation, defining champions!
