Porsche Italia presents new water sports initiative

Porsche has been a champion of sport for decades, supporting golf and tennis at the highest level alongside its own interests on the race track. Until now, however, its focus has always been on terra firma. Porsche Italia is about to change all that.

‘Porsche On Board’ is a four-event competition revolving around a variety of board-based water sports including surfing, kitesurfing, hydrofoil surfing, windsurfing, and SUP or stand-up paddle boarding. These are all dynamic sports involving a high degree of skill that combine the technical and physical qualities we associate with Porsche.

And true to Porsche’s exploration of fresh digital possibilities, the competition breaks new ground in using GPS to allow participants to record their performances and share the results via a dedicated system that then assesses them based on predefined parameters. This means that instead of having a traditional line-up, so-called ‘free starts’ will allow contestants to repeat their performance several times, potentially improving at every attempt.

The heart of this whole initiative is the Porsche On Board village, where the latest equipment is exhibited, and where beginners have a chance to get a feel for the various disciplines while more seasoned participants test the latest equipment.

The products available for testing include a limited series of eight handcrafted carbon fibre boards decorated with graphics that reference the history of Porsche Motorsport, as well as several kites specially manufactured by Ozone for the Trophy.

The village will also act as a hub for test drives of the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo and Cayenne, the two cars that, with their unique mix of space, performance and unparalleled versatility, best express Porsche’s spirit of outdoor adventure.

"Porsche On Board" in Bildern

The first three-day round of the Porsche On Board Trophy took place at the Italian resort of La Rambla in Lazio, a venue well-known among water sports fans. The next round begins on 26 July in Gizzeria, Calabria before the competition heads to Villasimius on the island of Sardinia on 6 September. The final round will take place in Stagnone, Sicily, on 20 September. Participation in the Trophy is free of charge and open to water sports enthusiasts and athletes at any level.