Photo: Elliot Glynn
Features
The Foil Pod #1 Chris Burke / Founder of the Kernow Foil Classic
The Kernow Foil Classic returns to Cornwall this autumn with its biggest line-up yet. But while some of the best foilers in the world will be flying in to compete, event organiser Chris Burke is determined that the KFC remains what it has always been: a gathering for everyone who loves foiling. Rou Chater caught up with his old friend on The Foil Pod to find out how a grassroots event in Daymer Bay has grown into one of the most exciting dates on the UK foil calendar.
There is something special about watching the best riders in the world doing their thing on YouTube. Perfect waves, tropical water, immaculate conditions and riding that can occasionally seem so far removed from your own sessions that it barely feels like the same sport. Watching those same riders standing next to you on a beach in Cornwall, rigging their gear in a car park, looking at the same grey Atlantic horizon and wondering what foil to put on is an entirely different experience.
That is one of the things that could make this year’s Kernow Foil Classic particularly special. From the 29th of September to the 4th of October, some serious names are heading to Cornwall. Naumi Eychenne, Guy Bridge, Cash Berzolla, Finn Spencer, Jeffrey Spencer, Benoit Carpentier, Luke Atkinson, Tom Earl and Jack Ho are among the riders expected, alongside plenty more international and UK talent. The important part, though, is that you don’t have to be anywhere near their level to be part of it.
From Grassroots Beginnings
Chris Burke and I have known each other for somewhere around 26 years. We’ve been involved in kitesurfing and other fringe watersports for most of that time, and one characteristic Chris has always had is an enthusiasm for bringing people together. The Kernow Foil Classic grew out of exactly that.
After moving to Cornwall, Chris began talking with Rich Boughton and Will Bennett about the potential of Daymer Bay. With the right swell and wind, the spot creates an incredible natural amphitheatre, with a point break running into the bay and cliffs providing spectators with an almost purpose-built viewing platform. The idea was simple: why not hold a foil competition there?
The first KFC in 2023 was about as grassroots as an event could be. Riders helped judge, brands contributed prizes, friends helped keep everything moving and, crucially, the conditions delivered. “We absolutely scored it,” Chris remembers. “It was this beautiful atmosphere where there was a bunch of energy, a bunch of passion. We scored conditions in this beautiful arena.”
“The whole ethos is creating a platform where people can come and hang out.” — Chris Burke
What could easily have remained a fun gathering of local foilers suddenly looked as though it had the potential to become considerably more. Four years later, that is exactly what has happened.
An Event For Foiling, Not Just Competition
One of the strengths of the Kernow Foil Classic has always been its willingness to embrace foiling in its many different forms. Wing and prone have remained at the heart of the event, but SUP foil has featured previously, parawing joined the programme and this year foil assist gets its own competition too. Inevitably, as the number of ways we can get ourselves onto foil continues to increase, fitting everything into a few days becomes increasingly difficult.
Chris is pragmatic about that. Wing and prone remain central because of their importance to the event and because they require the most specific conditions. Other emerging disciplines can then be incorporated in ways that complement rather than compromise the main competition. Parawing, for example, is planned as more of a showcase, with selected riders filmed before the footage is screened as part of the evening programme. Foil assist is considerably less tide and wind dependent, allowing the organisers to slot heats into parts of the day that might not work for prone or wing competition. It is a format that can evolve alongside the sport itself.
“I really want to create an event that is a spectacle and pushes the sport forward, but never forgets that we all came from somewhere.” — Chris Burke
More importantly, however, Chris doesn’t want the KFC to become so preoccupied with competition that it forgets everyone else. “I think that’s the heart of the event to me,” he explains. “Creating a platform where people can come and hang out.”
It is an important distinction. Competitive watersports have a habit of disappearing down the rabbit hole of elite performance. Standards rise, equipment becomes increasingly specialised and eventually an event that once attracted everyone can begin to feel as though it belongs only to the people wearing competition rash vests. The Kernow Foil Classic is deliberately trying to avoid that.
Come And Ride
I went to the event for the first time last year and, while the competition was impressive, what struck me was how many people were there simply because they loved foiling. Some watched the heats, others supported friends who were competing, while plenty disappeared further along the beach for their own sessions before returning to see what was happening. In fact, there were probably freeriders who clocked up considerably more water time than the competitors. That atmosphere is integral to the KFC.
For 2026, the event will once again be based around Hayle, but its mobile format gives Chris and the team access to several locations around Cornwall. Daymer Bay remains an option, alongside Hayle, Gwithian and Marazion, with each day’s venue chosen according to the forecast. That flexibility isn’t only useful for the competition. It means freeriders can watch a few heats, explore another local spot, return later and then meet everyone again in the evening.
Brands will also be bringing demo equipment, giving visitors an opportunity to see and potentially try the equipment they have been reading about or watching online. You don’t have to compete, and you don’t even have to be particularly good. You just need to be interested in foiling.
“Don’t be shy,” says Chris. “Don’t think it’s an elite event where you’re not going to be welcome. The idea is that everybody’s welcome.” That includes complete beginners, freeriders, partners and friends who don’t foil at all, right through to some of the best riders on the planet.
“Don’t think it’s an elite event where you’re not going to be welcome. The idea is that everybody’s welcome.” — Chris Burke
Your Heroes, On Your Beach
Perhaps the biggest development this year is the calibre of riders heading to Cornwall. UK foilers are accustomed to seeing Guy Bridge and Tom Earl pushing the level here, but adding riders including Cash Berzolla, Naumi Eychenne, Finn and Jeffrey Spencer, Benoit Carpentier, Luke Atkinson and Jack Ho turns the 2026 KFC into something else entirely. For British foilers, opportunities to watch riders of this calibre compete in our conditions are incredibly rare.
I can still remember being taken to Brighton as a kid when the professional windsurfing tour came to town. Seeing the riders you normally only encountered in magazines suddenly standing on your local beach had an impact that watching another video never could. The Kernow Foil Classic has the potential to create those moments for a new generation of foilers.
It’s one thing watching Cash Berzolla flying around Maui on your phone. It’s something quite different watching him paddle out into a Cornish lineup, alongside Guy Bridge, Tom Earl and some of the best international riders in the sport. You can see what equipment they actually choose, watch how they read conditions that you recognise and see how they deal with awkward sections, Atlantic chop and shifting wind. Then, potentially, you can bump into them later over a pint. That accessibility matters.
“Some people don’t necessarily want to go somewhere with their foiling. They just want to enjoy it for what it is.” — Chris Burke
Chris is also keen to keep the professional and amateur sides of the competition connected. Rather than isolating the elite riders in their own bubble, the event format is designed so the pro and amateur rounds progress alongside one another. As Chris puts it, you might find yourself being handed a competition rash vest by Cash Berzolla before returning the favour for one of the Spencer brothers. It breaks down the barrier between the people we watch and the people we ride with, and that is something increasingly difficult to find as sports become more professional.
More Than What Happens On The Water
The social side has been deliberately built into the event too, with places for everyone to meet at the end of each day, live music and different evening activities planned throughout the week. You can stop for a quick drink after getting off the water or settle in for the evening and talk foiling until everyone is bored of hearing about mast lengths. For Chris, those conversations are as important as the results.
The KFC is “run by foilers for foilers”, and that isn’t simply a convenient strapline. Much of the event relies on volunteers giving their time, whether helping competitors, carrying equipment, managing the beach or dealing with the countless small jobs required to keep a mobile watersports competition functioning.
“It’s one thing watching the world’s best foilers on YouTube. It’s something very different having them riding on your local beach.”
Chris is actively looking for people who would like to help this year, and you don’t need to sacrifice your entire event to get involved. Anyone willing to contribute a morning or an afternoon can become part of the team while still finding time to ride and enjoy everything else going on. It is another part of that community ethos which has been there since the first KFC and which Chris is determined not to lose as the event grows.
Building Something Bigger
There is another important development for 2026. The Kernow Foil Classic has joined forces with France’s Crozon Foil Festival to create the Celtic Crown, linking two events that have developed independently but share remarkably similar ideas about what a foil competition should be.
It came about because Chris and Crozon organiser Martin realised they were both building events based around similar principles. Rather than seeing each other as competition, they began sharing ideas, formats and experience. That relationship now extends to shared members of the judging and event teams, creating more consistency between the two competitions. Results from the Kernow Foil Classic and Crozon will then combine to crown the leading male and female prone riders across the two events.
“Foiling is still young enough that the world’s best riders and complete beginners can share the same beach.”
It is another sign of how far the KFC has travelled from that first gathering at Daymer Bay in 2023, but importantly the ambition hasn’t changed its underlying character. It still isn’t trying to become some roped-off professional sporting spectacle that ordinary riders observe from a distance. The international riders, increased industry support and link with Crozon are helping to push the level upwards, but Chris is equally determined to keep the door open at the other end.
Get Yourself To Cornwall
That’s probably the message I took away most strongly from chatting to Chris. If you’re into foiling in the UK, gather a few mates and go. Compete if that’s your thing, or sign up as a freerider if it isn’t. Bring your wing, prone board, parawing or foil assist, try some new equipment and watch some of the world’s best riders tackling the same Atlantic conditions we ride every week. Have a session, stand on the cliff and watch a few heats, then head to the pub afterwards.
Foiling is still young enough that events like this can feel personal. You can have one of the best riders in the world competing in front of you in the afternoon and potentially be having a conversation with them that evening. Those opportunities don’t come around very often, particularly here in the UK, where seeing the biggest international names usually means watching them on YouTube from thousands of miles away.
“The KFC isn’t trying to become a professional sporting spectacle that ordinary riders observe from a distance.”
The spectacular riding will undoubtedly grab plenty of attention at this year’s Kernow Foil Classic, especially with the international names heading to Cornwall. But arguably the most important thing Chris Burke and his team are building isn’t another competition. They’re building a place for the foil community to come together, where the best riders in the world can share a beach with people who might only have started foiling a few months ago. That is what makes the KFC different, and everyone is invited.
Kernow Foil Classic 2026
29th September – 4th October 2026
Hayle, Cornwall, with locations selected according to conditions.
Find out more, enter the competition or register as a freerider:
“The Kernow Foil Classic isn’t just building a competition. It’s building a place for the foil community to come together.”
https://www.kernowfoilclassic.com/
Sponsors for this event are:
Armstrong Foils – Lead Sponsor of Prone
F-ONE – Lead Sponsor of Parawing
Foil Drive – Sponsor of Foil Assist
Duotone – Sponsor of Wing Foil
The Mailing Room
Slingshot
AFS
Viking
Appletree
Blundstone
Code Foils
AXIS
Surflogic
Soöruz
Kāohi
Ozone
Poseidon Watersports – Event Host
