FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WAKA Wins Dual Awards at 2025 FIT Sport Design Awards for Revolutionary Folding Foil Board

Waka Glide Takes Top Honors in Both Innovation and Watersports Categories

Aspen, CO – May 22, 2025 – WAKA, Inc., the innovative US-based startup behind the world's first folding foil board, today announced that its groundbreaking Waka Glide has been recognized with two prestigious awards at the 2025 FIT Sport Design Awards. The revolutionary board earned top honors in both the "Sport Equipment Design - Innovation" and "Sport Equipment Design - Watersport, Aquatic, Paddle Sports" categories.

The FIT Sport Design Awards recognize excellence in sports equipment design, celebrating innovations that push the boundaries of performance, functionality, and user experience. The Waka Glide's dual recognition underscores its significance as both a technological breakthrough and a game-changing product for water sports enthusiasts. Full details of the award can be viewed at https://fitdesignawards.com/winners/fit/2025/461/0/.

The Waka Glide features WAKA TravelFold™, the patent-pending technology that allows the high-performance carbon fiber board to fold in half, solving one of the sport's most persistent challenges: transportation and storage. The revolutionary design combines an aerospace-inspired carbon-kevlar living hinge system with premium materials to deliver both exceptional on-water performance and unprecedented portability.

"Receiving recognition in both the Innovation and Watersports categories validates what we've believed all along – that the Waka Glide represents a fundamental shift in how we think about foil board design," said Nigel Thompson, CEO and Lead Designer of WAKA. "These awards honor not just our technology, but our commitment to solving real problems for the foiling community. When you can fit two 7-foot boards in a standard car trunk while maintaining world-class performance, you're not just making an incremental improvement – you're reimagining what's possible."

The awards come at a pivotal time for WAKA, as the company prepares to ship its first production run to customers across North America, Europe, and Asia in early summer 2025. The Waka Glide has already generated significant international interest, with the company recently expanding pre-orders globally after overwhelming demand from foiling enthusiasts worldwide.

The innovative board construction features a lightweight EPS core encased in full carbon fiber, with the revolutionary WAKA TravelFold™ technology adding only about half a kilogram to the total weight. The system maintains complete structural integrity when assembled, creating a rigid platform that delivers the performance characteristics demanded by serious foilers.

Key innovations recognized by the FIT awards jury include:

• WAKA TravelFold™ patent-pending technology using carbon-kevlar composites
• Aerospace-inspired engineering eliminating traditional mechanical hinges
• Zero-compromise performance maintaining rigidity and responsiveness
• Revolutionary portability enabling transport in standard vehicles
• Seamless integration of folding technology into board architecture

The Waka Glide represents more than two years of intensive development and testing across multiple continents, including rigorous evaluation in Hood River, Oregon, New Zealand, and La Ventana, Mexico. The board is manufactured in partnership with COBRA International, a global leader in composite manufacturing with over 40 years of experience in advanced composite production.

Thompson, a tech entrepreneur and avid wing foiler with Kiwi roots, founded WAKA after experiencing firsthand the transportation challenges that limit foiling adventures. The company's direct-to-consumer approach ensures competitive pricing while maintaining premium quality standards.

The FIT Sport Design Awards recognition adds to WAKA's growing list of achievements, including a successful global expansion announcement and partnerships with leading composite manufacturers. The company recently showcased the Waka Glide at JEC World 2025, the premier composites trade show, where it generated significant industry interest.

Available in five sizes ranging from 66L to 111L, the Waka Glide comes complete with a premium insulated day bag and toolkit. The optional Rolling Waka travel system provides additional protection for international travel, accommodating the folded board, foils, and wings in a single heavy-duty roller bag.

Pre-orders for the award-winning Waka Glide are currently available at waka.surf, with shipping scheduled to begin in early summer 2025 for customers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

About WAKA

WAKA is a US-based startup with Kiwi roots, dedicated to reimagining water sports equipment through innovative design and technology. Founded by tech entrepreneur and avid wing foiler Nigel Thompson, WAKA focuses on creating beautiful, functional products that solve real challenges for water sports enthusiasts. The company's flagship product, the Waka Glide, represents the world's first folding foil board, combining revolutionary portability with uncompromising performance through its breakthrough WAKA TravelFold™ technology. Learn more at https://waka.surf.

About FIT Sport Design Awards

The FIT Sport Design Awards celebrate excellence in sports equipment design, recognizing innovations that enhance athletic performance, improve user experience, and push the boundaries of what's possible in sports technology. The awards honor designers and companies that demonstrate exceptional creativity, technical innovation, and commitment to advancing their respective sports.

Contact Information:

WAKA Media Relations
Email: press@waka.surf