Foiling has been permitted again on Saxony's lakes since April. Since then, the "Foiling 2023" pilot project has been running. "This pilot project covers the water sports season from April to mid-October 2023 and is intended to take particular account of the natural environment and nature conservation," according to a statement from the Ministry of the Interior. Wind foiling and wing foiling are therefore permitted without a licence.
What will happen to the foil ban from October?
As much as all the associations, clubs and, above all, surfers were delighted about the lifting of the foil ban, strictly speaking the licence is only valid until October. Philip Kümpel, who filed a lawsuit against the foil ban with the administrative court in Chemnitz in December 2022 with a few fellow campaigners and financial support from a crowdfunding initiative, is therefore only leaving the lawsuit in abeyance so that it can be reactivated if necessary. "We think that our lawsuit has enabled us to generate a certain willingness to talk on the other side, so that the associations have been able to negotiate the current model trial. Many thanks to all donors and to the associations for the successful talks!" Kümpel continued: "Even though foiling is currently permitted, strictly speaking it will be banned again once the pilot scheme ends in mid-October. We have therefore put our lawsuit against the foil ban into a kind of dormant state at the moment so that we can reactivate it quickly."
Substantial costs for the plaintiffs - also out of their own pockets
Although the crowdfunding campaign was a great success, the plaintiffs also had to finance the lawsuit with private money. Philipp Kümpel: "In terms of costs, we have already exceeded our budget by 1764 euros as things stand. We are therefore still happy to receive donations of any size to keep the lawsuit going." Anyone who would like to find out more and provide support can find Here are the transparently listed costs and further information
