• Adam Vance

    Ozone team rider


Background:

A member of the first Canadian Olympic Formula Kiteboard Racing Team in 2021-2022 and founder of Advanced Foiling, Adam Vance is originally from Montreal and a four-time Canadian champion of kiteboard racing in 2010, 2011, 2015, and the 2017 Canadian Slalom champion, along with a dozen other top podium finishes at international competitions. With a ski racing and windsurfing background, he was one of the pioneers of the sport in the Northwest and in 2014 went on to win the world champion title for his age class at the Masters Formula Kite world championships in Sardinia, Italy - following a close second place at the Masters World Championships in France in 2011.

As founder of Advanced Foiling, Adam has worked with Olympic teams around the world on training programs. He now coaches hydro foiling locally in Seattle for the keen and avid who want to accelerate progress and overcome progression challenges. As a founding member of the Seattle Kiteboarding Association, he focused his efforts on community events, safety and helping others to learn about technical advances in the sport. Adam received lifesaving awards from the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, and Red Cross for his initiative in several marine rescues when he saved people from drowning. During COVID, he developed remote online training sessions for aspiring athletes in lockdown together with Sail Canada, and now carries this training experience forward into customized programs for individual athletes of all types across different types of foiling.

Philosophy and passion:

Whether in high-speed foil racing or wave kitesurfing big ocean swells, and now wing foiling, there is an intimate link for Adam between riding the critical section of breaking waves, achieving pole position on the race course, and innovation within a global technology adoption wave. The ideal position is frontside on the curve, where the pitch angle allows for maintaining the fastest, highest level of performance. For Adam, it is all part of a passion for speed, performance, and being on the cutting edge of new technology.

Tech projects:

Through his interest in technology, sports and outdoor adventure projects, Adam introduced the use of Virtual Reality and 360 video to Olympic teams for simulation training in high performance formula kiteboard racing. He has shown Olympic teams around the world - in the U.S., Poland, Italy, France, Turkey, Canada, Colombia and Spain among others - how to leverage the latest innovations in VR and 360 video as a powerful simulation and training tool for training Olympic athletes in preparation for 2024. He now uses this VR learning technique in hydrofoil coaching locally to help and support athletes to focus and develop relaxed visualization skills and techniques that can otherwise be difficult, frustrating or even daunting to acquire or perform alone on the water. Here are a couple of short documentary clips illustrating applications of VR to Olympic hydrofoil racing and Adam's work with the U.S. Olympic team at their training camps:

Career highlights and results:

  • 3rd place, WesMex International Regatta, Puerta Vallarta, Mexico 2022
  • 4th Place, Pan American Championships of Formula Kite racing class, Colombia 2020
  • 1st place, Ocean Rodeo Canadian Championships of Slalom Kiteboard Racing, Canada 2017
  • 1st Place, Canadian Champion of Formula Kite racing class, Canada 2015
  • 3rd Place, Formula Kite World Championships, Grandmaster Division, Italy 2015
  • 3rd Place, South American Championships, Masters Division, Colombia 2014
  • 1st Place, N.A. Championships, Grandmaster Division Champion, SF 2013
  • 1st Place, West Coast Open, Grandmaster Division Champion, Canada 2013
  • 3rd Place overall, Sailing World Cup, Formula Kite Racing at Sail Melbourne, Australia 2012
  • 2nd Place, Kiteboard Racing World Championships, Grandmaster Division, 2012
  • 1st Place, North American Championships Grandmaster Division Champion, 2012
  • 1st Place, 2x Canadian Champion, Canadian Championships, 2011-2010
  • 2nd Place, Masters World Championships, Douarnenez France 2011

Kiteboarding videos and session mashups: