Hugo Wigglesworth says his second straight GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Championship, won at the GKA Kite World Cup Sylt in Germany, "made my year a success". The 19-year-old New Zealander told the GKA's Ian MacKinnon the title meant more because the Twin-tip results had not come, and that he will keep riding a FLYSURFER foil kite in Twin-tip Big Air even though he feels the judges have not fully rewarded it.
The interview, published by the GKA on 31 October 2026, was recorded before Wigglesworth travelled to Taiwan. There he won the Red Bull King of the Air Taiwan Qualifier as the only finalist on a foil kite, which books him a place at the Red Bull King of the Air finals in Cape Town, South Africa. His argument about how judges read foil kites now goes with him to his first King of the Air.
How Wigglesworth defended the Hydrofoil Big Air title in Sylt
He won it from the top seed position, with two scores in the 9s in the final. The GKA Kite World Cup Sylt ran from 25 to 30 August 2026 in Westerland. Wigglesworth arrived as reigning champion and men's number-one seed, with Germany's Finn Flügel seeded second.
In the second semi-final he posted an overall score of 36.44 points. The final on 30 August was, in Flysurfer's words, far from straightforward, but the two scores in the 9s carried him to the win and kept the world title with him for another year.
- 1st: Hugo Wigglesworth (NZL)
- 2nd: Finn Flügel (GER)
- 3rd: Lorenzo Casati (ESP)
- 4th: Marten Koblischke (GER)
In the women's event, Andrea Zust came ashore as Hydrofoil Big Air World Champion once again, with Kailani Friedrich second.
Kites and tricks in the Sylt final
Wigglesworth started the final on a FLYSURFER SONIC⁵ 7m, switched to a SONIC⁵ 10m and later went up to a SONIC⁵ 12m. Flysurfer lists a huge board-off kite loop, a clean front roll with a late kite loop and a rodeo among his tricks in Sylt.
Why the second title meant more to him
He says the field got much stronger. "This time round it was a lot harder. The level from the top 10 riders was definitely raised hugely. I had to bring many more new tricks to the competition to get the win," Wigglesworth said.
He compared it with his first crown. "I felt the first title, it was my first event and it felt almost too easy. This time round it feels better because it was much harder to win."
MacKinnon pointed out that he still led many heats comfortably. Wigglesworth put that down to execution rather than a bigger trick list than his rivals: "It was mostly about the height I was getting, and the take-offs, because I had some extra speed."
His preparation was narrow. He trained mostly in New Zealand and gave the discipline about as much time as the year before. "I put away my twin-tip for about a month and a half before the [Hydrofoil] Big Air comp. I really focused on getting the five tricks that I was going to do in the comp."
Foil racing is part of his background. Boating New Zealand reports that he finished seventh at the Youth Sailing World Championships and won the New Zealand Kitefoil national title in 2024.
Should Hydrofoil Big Air have more GKA events?
Wigglesworth wants three or four of them, and he wants them in wind that suits the foil. "Definitely. Maybe three or four would be pretty cool and if we can have it in 20 knots, which is not too much to ask, we can put on a pretty good show where the twin-tip riders would struggle to put on a good show in that amount of wind."
Charles Brodel and a comeback
He would welcome Charles Brodel, whom the GKA describes as a six-time Hydrofoil Big Air world champion, back on the tour. "That would be pretty cool. It would definitely help push the level of the other riders and maybe help grow the discipline," Wigglesworth said.
Brodel rode the Cold Hawaii Games in Denmark in September, where the results app lists him as seed #7, riding F-ONE, from France. Wigglesworth thought the Frenchman deserved more there. "Again the judges didn't really reward him. Even though he was going higher than anyone else he lost the heat somehow. It's hard to judge a hydrofoil against a twin-tip."
The two have history in the air. On 6 December 2025 Wigglesworth set a world record jump captured, measured and verified by WOO, breaking a record of Brodel's that had stood for 43 days. Flysurfer gives his setup for that jump as a SONIC⁵, a FUSION Control Bar in size L, 17m lines and a 27-litre foil board.
Foil kite in Twin-tip Big Air: the Mykonos judging question
Wigglesworth rode a foil kite at the Twin-tip Big Air finale in Mykonos and says it was not fully recognised. That event, the capital.com GKA Big Air Kite World Cup Greece, ran from 16 to 21 June 2026 at Korfos Beach. Leonardo Casati won and became the 2026 GKA Big Air Kite World Champion, ahead of Lorenzo Casati, Shahar Tsabary and Jamie Overbeek.
"I think it gives me a slight advantage. But there are advantages and disadvantages from a foil kite," Wigglesworth said. "The advantage is not massive, because it's more difficult to use. I don't think I was fully recognised with what I was doing in Mykonos. But I'm going to stick with it for the future."
He contrasted Mykonos with Lords of Tram in France, where he rode on a wildcard. In France, he said, height and distance were rewarded and the judges watched from the side. In Mykonos they sat straight downwind of the riders. "In Mykonos the emphasis was on explosive kiteloops, perhaps because of where the judges were sitting."
He chose his words about the panel with care. "Don't get me wrong, the judges are doing an amazing job and it's always going to be hard. But I would say literally all the judges have never looped a foil kite and understand how challenging it is. So it's hard for them not to have some subconscious bias to the gear they've used."
Red Bull King of the Air Taiwan Qualifier win
He won it in October, and on a foil kite. The qualifier was held for the first time in Hsinchu, known locally as 'Wind City', at Nanliao Fishing Harbor, with 18 men and 6 women competing.
In the Taiwan final he was the only rider on a foil kite, and he landed 19 tricks in 15 minutes without a crash.
In the Taiwan final he was the only rider on a foil kite, and he landed 19 tricks in 15 minutes without a crash.
He flew a FLYSURFER SONIC⁵ 7m and beat Finn Flügel and Marten Koblischke, the same two Germans who finished second and fourth behind him in Sylt. Flysurfer says he arrived in Taiwan injured. Alessa Mensch won the women's category, and both winners secured spots at the 2026 Red Bull King of the Air finals in Cape Town.
"I'm super happy to secure my spot in KOTA this year," Wigglesworth said in Flysurfer's report.
- Event: Red Bull King of the Air Taiwan Qualifier, Nanliao Fishing Harbor, Hsinchu
- Field: 18 men, 6 women
- Men's winner: Hugo Wigglesworth, on a SONIC⁵ 7m
- Women's winner: Alessa Mensch
- Prize: places at Red Bull King of the Air in Cape Town
When is Red Bull King of the Air 2026 in Cape Town?
The waiting period runs from 21 November to 6 December 2026. It will be Wigglesworth's King of the Air debut, and the first test of whether a foil kite can carry his scores in the judging conditions he has questioned. He made his priority plain to MacKinnon before he left for Taiwan: "Kota is definitely my focus for the rest of the year."
