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Hugo Wigglesworth has his head in the clouds – for two afternoons during most school weeks and at least once over the weekend.
Yet the Auckland teenager is remarkably grounded when asked about balancing life as one of New Zealand’s most exciting sailing talents with that of an ordinary 16-year-old.
“It’s been a busy few months, with not many weekends off but it’s finally starting to slow down a bit.”
Wigglesworth, like an increasing number of young Kiwis, has been swept up in the foiling craze; spending every available moment “carving” through the air - whether it's powered by wing or a kite. (In one of his many social media posts documenting his aerial acrobatics, Wigglesworth reaches an elevation of nearly 30m on the kite.)
The soft-spoken King’s College student won the kitefoiling gold at the Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta in February and followed it up with an “eye-opening” debut at the Wingfoil World Cup in Tauranga.
Hugo Wigglesworth won the kitefoil title at 2023 Oceanbridge NZL Sailing Regatta. Photo / Adam Mustill Photography
He finished sixth overall in a 37-board freefly-slalom fleet featuring some of the world’s best riders and was eliminated in the second round of the surf-freestyle event, with his frontside 720 manoeuvre - self-taught by studying a series of social media posts - capturing the imagination.
“The international guys are a long way ahead of us when it comes to the flips and tricks and there’s no one in New Zealand really doing it,” Wigglesworth said.
“It's mainly on Instagram where you get to learn. Someone will do a trick and post [a video of] it and the next week, you see loads of other guys also landing it. You just study those videos to see how they’re doing it and then try it yourself.”
With the speed the foiling boards reach – upward of 35kn in the right conditions – it’s hardly a surprise that wingfoiling is taking off in New Zealand.
“My parents both kite surfed and when I was about 8 or 9, my dad started teaching me.
“I think I sailed an Opti for maybe one school term… I’ve never really been into that - the faster the boat, the more fun it is for me and I’m seeing a lot of the kids in 29ers getting into wingfoiling.”
Despite the class’ popularity, Wigglesworth is unlikely to pack away his kite anytime soon.
“I still like the kite more. Controlling it is a lot more challenging than just picking up a wing and besides, it’s not at the Olympics yet.”
Wigglesworth's aerial antics captured the imagination at the Wingfoil World Cup in Tauranga. Photo / Georgia Schofield
While he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to line up at next year’s Paris Olympic Games, Wigglesworth considers Los Angeles in 2028 a more realistic target.
“Lukas [Walton-Keim] is still a lot faster than us and I don’t think I would be able to compete with the top guys just yet,” he explains.
Walton-Keim, the country’s leading men’s kitefoiler, missed the Oceanbridge regatta and the class nationals in February through injury after dominating the domestic scene for the past three years.
Wigglesworth’s only racing experience abroad so far was the youth world championships in The Hague in July last year, where he finished seventh. Training and competing exclusively in a small domestic fleet has made gauging his progress difficult, he admits.
“I'm obviously better in the super light stuff and once it gets to 12kn and over some of the bigger guys on bigger kites are faster than me.
“But, once it gets in the 20kn-plus range, I again feel like those are my conditions becomes when it’s that windy, it becomes more about balance rather than just pushing on the foil and going as fast as you can.”
Wigglesworth believes he’s proven himself capable of juggling a demanding training schedule with other everyday priorities – like schoolwork and preparing for his driver’s test in just over a month.
“I try to train as much as possible. During the school term I’ll do at least one day over the weekend and two days after classes,” he said.
“Balancing my kitefoiling with school is definitely not easy but I feel like I am managing at the moment.”
His attention will soon turn to the under-21 world championships in Italy in July – a rare opportunity to test himself on the international stage.
“I know I have improved but I know I still need to get better,” Wigglesworth said.
“All I can do is go over there and give it my best. I know I’m fast but so are those top guys.”
For now, he is content with learning as much as he can as fast as possible – by observing the likes of New Zealand freestyle kiteboarder and 2021 Red Bull King of the Air champion Marc Jacobs, and multiple women’s national champion kitefoiler Justina Kitchen, who will next week start her European season as part of a 36-strong Kiwi contingent at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Spain.
And, of course, by keeping a close eye on those Instagram posts.
