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Windsurfing Participation Statistics: UK, U.S. and Survey Findings

A source-grounded guide to windsurfing participation estimates, activity frequency, locations, memberships, training and windfoiling survey responses.

November 11, 2026 9 min read wyattmillerwindsurfing.com Editorial Team

Contents

Windsurfing participation statistics in UK survey estimates

The most detailed UK figures here come from the Solent Forum’s Watersports Participation Survey 2021. Its online survey covered October 2020–September 2021 and reports a combined category, “Windsurfing / Wind Foiling.” It therefore cannot separate conventional windsurfing from wind foiling. The estimates describe UK adults and come from a weighted survey with a stated base of 12,000 respondents per year. The report also cautions that the online sample was more active than face-to-face samples and that national volume extrapolations overestimated known volumes; it recommends treating volumes as informational indicators rather than accurate market totals. Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 6

The report’s 2021 table gives a participation rate of 4.0% for people who took part in the combined activity 1–2 times in the prior year, and 0.1% for those who did so 3 or more times. It also gives corresponding participant-volume estimates in thousands. Because the report specifically advises caution with national volumes, the table labels those figures in the report’s own units rather than presenting them as precise headcounts.

UK survey measure, October 2020–September 2021Participation rateEstimated volume (000s)
Windsurfing / Wind Foiling, 1–2 times4.0%2,155
Windsurfing / Wind Foiling, 3 or more times0.1%76

Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 6

These rows should be read as separate frequency bands in a combined activity category, not as a standalone count of windsurfers. The rate and volume columns also have different forms: one is a percentage, the other a survey volume reported in thousands. The report’s stated cautions matter particularly when interpreting the latter.

A separate historical estimate appears in the Scottish Government’s marine planning report. It says the BMF Water Sports and Leisure Participation Survey 2009 estimated that 23,952 adults aged over 16 participated in windsurfing in the Border and Scotland ITV regions. Those are named television regions, and the estimate is not for Scotland alone. Its 2009 date and regional scope make it a different kind of observation from the later UK-wide Solent survey. Source: Scottish Government, Planning Scotland’s Seas: 2013 – C.17 Water Sports, C.17.3.1

Windsurfing participation statistics by UK frequency

The Solent report’s frequency chart looks at people who did the combined windsurfing/wind-foiling activity in the UK during the prior 12 months. It shows how often those participants said they took part; these percentages are not participation rates among all adults. In 2021, the chart places 65% in the 13-or-more-times category, 30% in the 6–12-times category and 5% in the 2–5-times category. The chart labels the “Once” segment 0%. Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 26

For 2020, the same chart reports 52% at 13 or more times, 38% at 6–12 times and 9% at 2–5 times. These are reported chart segments for the prior-year frequency question. The available notes do not give a printed “Once” value for the 2020 bar, so it is not filled in here. The comparison indicates a different distribution across the displayed frequency bands between the 2020 and 2021 bars; it does not by itself explain why that pattern changed. Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 26

Frequency among UK participants20202021
13 or more times52%65%
6–12 times38%30%
2–5 times9%5%
Once—0%

Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 26

The base is all respondents who did the activity in the UK during the prior year; the report says base sizes vary and that demographic weighting was applied. The 2020 and 2021 percentages thus describe the frequency mix among participants captured by the chart, not the number of participants or the share of the whole UK population. The report’s broader warning about an unusually active online sample is relevant context when reading both years.

Windsurfing participation statistics by UK and overseas location

The survey also divides participants by where they did the combined activity during the prior 12 months. In 2021, 68% did it only in the UK, 29% did it both in the UK and abroad, and 3% did it abroad only. In 2020, the corresponding reported shares were 35% UK only, 56% both UK and abroad, and 9% abroad only. Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 21

Participant location in prior 12 months20202021
UK only35%68%
Both UK and abroad56%29%
Abroad only9%3%

Source: Solent Forum, Watersports Participation Survey 2021, p. 21

These categories distinguish domestic-only activity from activity spanning both locations and activity abroad only. They concern participants’ reported locations, not trip counts, distances or destination choices. As with the frequency chart, the base consists of people who did the activity in the prior year, and the survey notes varying base sizes and demographic weighting. The figures support a comparison of the reported location split across the 2 chart years, but do not identify a cause for the difference.

Windsurfing participation statistics in Scotland and Ireland

NatureScot’s SPANS Scotland’s People and Nature Survey 2023/24 reports that windsurfing accounted for 3% of visits that included water sports. The survey period was March 2023–February 2024. The denominator is visits involving water sports, not people in Scotland or the Scottish population. The report’s table describes respondents who took part in water sports during their most recent visit, with a base of 418 and a visit weight applied. It also states that visits including water sports represented 4% of all visits. Source: NatureScot, SPANS Scotland’s People and Nature Survey 2023/24 – Outdoor Recreation Report, Table 3

That 3% figure is best understood as an activity share within a specific type of visit. It cannot be compared directly with a population participation rate or the UK survey’s estimated participant volumes. The Scottish Government’s older Border and Scotland ITV-region estimate is a different measure, population and period, as described above.

Irish Sailing’s 2024 Annual Report provides organizational training figures rather than a national participation survey. Its Training Report lists 95 windsurfing participants in Irish Sailing Training Programmes in 2024, within a report that says over 8,000 participants took part in those programmes. In a separate instructor and coach education list, it records 60 windsurfing instructors. The participant figure and instructor-education figure describe distinct training activity and should not be read as counts of all windsurfers in Ireland. Source: Irish Sailing, 2024 Annual Report, p. 10

Windsurfing participation statistics in U.S. boardsailing reports

The Outdoor Foundation’s 2017 Outdoor Recreation Participation Topline Report publishes an annual U.S. series for “Boardsailing/Windsurfing.” It describes its survey participants as Americans ages 6 and older. The checked table entries are retained in the table’s printed units without conversion; they should not be relabelled as individual people or another unit. The series shows the report’s values from 2006 through 2016, alongside a 31.2% three-year change for 2013–2016. Source: Outdoor Foundation, 2017 Topline Report, p. 9

YearBoardsailing/Windsurfing, reported units
2006938
20071,118
20081,307
20091,128
20101,617
20111,151
20121,593
20131,324
20141,562
20151,766
20161,737

Source: Outdoor Foundation, 2017 Topline Report, p. 9

The same table reports a 31.2% three-year change for the boardsailing/windsurfing row, covering 2013–2016. This is the report’s own change measure, reproduced as printed. The year-by-year series varies: for example, the listed value is 1,324 in 2013, 1,562 in 2014, 1,766 in 2015 and 1,737 in 2016. Those values and the three-year change are tied to this report vintage and its broad combined activity label. Source: Outdoor Foundation, 2017 Topline Report, p. 9

Windsurfing participation statistics in membership and training

The UK Windsurfing Association (UKWA) reported 474 memberships for 2024, a 7.2% decrease from 2023. These are memberships, not unique participants or a population estimate. The report also describes event entries: slalom recorded 175 entries over 4 events in 2024. Entries can include repeat participation, so they should not be interpreted as 175 distinct people. Source: UK Windsurfing Association, Admin Report for 2024, p. 1

The association further reported 145 event entries made on the day at registration in 2024, describing that count as 20% of entries. This is an entry-timing measure, not a separate measure of how many windsurfers took part. The report says that 2 One Hour Classic events attracted 15 non-members; that detail belongs to the event-entry context and does not alter the total membership count. Source: UK Windsurfing Association, Admin Report for 2024, p. 1

Together, membership and event records describe engagement with an association and its activities. They answer different questions from a survey asking how many people participated in windsurfing across a region. The Irish Sailing training figures similarly describe programme and instructor-training activity, with their own scope and denominators.

Windsurfing participation statistics in windfoiling surveys

World Sailing’s equipment evaluation for the 2024 Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer Event reports a survey asking whether respondents already practiced windfoiling. In the general-public windsurfing-community column, 63.4% of 964 replies said yes and 36.6% said no. For the RS:X windsurfer column, 77.5% of 160 replies said yes and 22.5% said no. The report says identities were not verified; the general-public survey was self-selected, and the RS:X survey was sent to World Sailing’s list of RS:X sailors competing in its events. These are respondent shares, not representative estimates of windfoiling prevalence among all windsurfers. Source: World Sailing, Selection of Equipment: 2024 Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer Event, p. 8

The same report records equipment preferences for the 2024 Olympic Sailing Competition among the 964 general-public windsurfing-community respondents. The responses included 38.3% preferring new foiling equipment, 21.9% preferring a convertible board combining foiling and non-foiling subject to wind conditions, 14.4% preferring different boards for foiling and non-foiling conditions, and 10.2% preferring to retain RS:X equipment. These are preference responses, not participation counts. Source: World Sailing, Selection of Equipment: 2024 Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer Event, p. 8

Among the 160 RS:X windsurfer respondents, 41.3% preferred new foiling equipment and 36.9% preferred retaining RS:X equipment. The distinct respondent groups show why the two survey columns should remain separate: one represents general-public windsurfing-community replies and the other replies from the RS:X sailor survey. The figures describe opinions within those respondents and cannot establish what equipment all windsurfers prefer. Source: World Sailing, Selection of Equipment: 2024 Men’s and Women’s Windsurfer Event, p. 8

Sources

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wyattmillerwindsurfing.com Editorial Team

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