Pensacola delivered the perfect stage for history. The inaugural WASZP All-Stars Invitational wrapped up this week with champagne conditions on the water and a dramatic finale that reshuffled the leaderboard right down to the final race. When it was all said and done, Australia’s Louis Tilly and USA’s Pearl Lattanzi walked away as the first-ever All-Stars Invitational Champions, each pocketing a $5,000 prize.
- The WASZP All-Stars Invitational is elite by design — an invitation-only event drawing the top-ranked WASZP sailors from across the globe. Eight men and seven women, selected purely on merit, competed in short, high-intensity sprint races with no discards allowed. Every result counted. Every mistake mattered.
Tilly’s Final-Day Surge
In the Men’s fleet, the title chase was far from settled heading into the final day. Spain’s Pablo Astiazaran opened strong, winning the first two races of the morning session. But the leaderboard belongs to whoever finishes, and Louis Tilly — the reigning Asia-Pacific Champion — closed the event with back-to-back race wins to leapfrog the field and claim the overall title.
- “It’s a massive game of snakes and ladders out there,” Tilly said. “In this format with no drops, it’s just all about fighting for every point. You have to push hard for everything, and that was shown out on the water.”
Lattanzi Stands Alone
In the Women’s fleet, Pearl Lattanzi of the USA never let the competition breathe. The 2025 WASZP Games champion opened the final day’s racing with another bullet and held her lead throughout, turning the substantial cushion she built on Day 1 into an insurmountable advantage. Australia’s Bridget Conrad and Canada’s Grace Poole each won races, but couldn’t crack Lattanzi’s consistency.
- “Picking the correct laylines and being on my targets — that was probably the key to success,” Lattanzi said.
Pensacola on the Global Foiling Map
The champions were crowned at the American Magic performance and innovation center — SailGP’s first long-term training base right here in Pensacola. That’s no small detail. This city is increasingly at the center of elite foiling, and the WASZP community has taken notice.
- Next up: The 2026 WASZP Games come to Pensacola from March 22–28, shaping up to be the biggest one-design foiling event in North American history. The Swarm is coming.
ABOUT WASZP:
The WASZP is the world’s most popular one-design foiling dinghy. Designed by Andrew McDougall, it makes foiling accessible to sailors globally at a fraction of the cost of other classes. With 1,700+ boats in over 30 countries, WASZP provides the premier platform for high-performance racing.
Website: www.waszp.com
NORTH AMERICAN AGENT:
FoilFAST is the exclusive North American distributor of the WASZP. Based in Annapolis, Maryland, FoilFAST supplies boats, parts, and expertise to expand foiling across the continent.
Website: www.foilfast.com
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