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DOUBLE PODIUM AT FPT TOW-IN SERIES BOOT DÜSSELDORF

After an action-packed week at BOOT Düsseldorf, we caught up with George Grisley and Niclas Nebelung to hear their thoughts on their first event of the year. They share insights on the competition, the setup, and the challenges they faced. Read on to see what they had to say—and don’t miss George’s recap video at the end!

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George Grisley:
This year was the first time the Freestyle Pro Tour had taken tow-in into the indoor arena, so it was too good an opportunity to miss. Having lost my European title in 2024 this was the first tow-in event of a longer season which has also now been upgraded to the World Series, meaning there is now a new world title up for grabs. As a kid, I used to always watch the clips of the PWA indoor windsurfing events and dreamt of being able to replicate that experience for myself one day. 

It was an unbelievable honour to sail so close to so many people around the pool. After speaking to the organiser he estimated we had around 1,200 people watching the finals which would not surprise me because the atmosphere was electric. With the lead changing so many times during the final, I think we put on a pretty amazing show for all the people who came to watch and hopefully inspired some more people to take up or continue to push their windsurfing whether it is freestyle or not. The judges seemed to be favoring the combo moves so Niclas and myself were both pushing for the high-scoring Air Funnel Burners. We both managed to stick our best ones of the whole event in our last two runs which left Niclas in  3rd and I was sat in the lead with just Lennart Neubauer’s last run to go. Unfortunately, Lennart managed to surpass my 9-point move with a 9.17 double culo to deservedly take the win.

With a world title up for grabs this year, it is going to be an exciting season in the tow-in discipline. We have not received the calendar yet but we expect more events in Vieste and Geneva as well as some smaller events in places like Vesoul. For myself, I couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to the season, and now have my sights firmly set on the title this year as well as processing through the ranks in the other freestyle disciplines.

Niclas Nebelung:
What a pool party it has been at BOOT Düsseldorf this weekend! I never thought I’d get to compete “at home” as a windsurfer from the Ruhr area, but the indoor pool at BOOT made it happen. Turning the exhibition hall into a windsurfing arena was an absolute thrill—especially with such a big crowd cheering.

I’ll be honest with you: when I first heard about it, the idea of tow-in windsurfing seemed strange to me—using a winch designed for wakeboarding and waterskiing, plus a bunch of fans to compensate for the lack of real wind. I was skeptical. But if I wasn’t already convinced by events like the tow-in competition during Kieler Woche, this one certainly did the trick.

It’s not often that we get to compete this close to the crowd; this is where tow-in windsurfing really has an advantage. Usually, we’re out on open water, with spectators watching from the shore. Here, they were right at the pool’s edge—so close that I could see their reactions to every move.

Of course, tow-in—especially when done indoors—has its challenges. Balancing the pull from the winch with the airflow from the fans takes careful planning. Some moves, like the Shaka, simply aren’t doable in tow-in because there’s not enough wind to lift the board. Instead, you rely solely on muscle strength to get through your tricks. Moreover, in this competition, all riders going switch on starboard tack, including myself, had it especially difficult, as we needed to make a 180-degree turn with the wind suddenly coming from the other side while the winch was pulling us. It was quite the challenge but also super fun, and I’m happy I pulled off a one-handed air funnel burner in the final, which earned me third place.

I’m already looking forward to the next (tow-in) events on the tour this year, and I hope we’ll be back in this unique arena next year!

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