The 2022 season marked a turning point for CHS.
After decades of racing development, innovation, and collaboration with elite riders, CHS reached the top of the PWA Slalom world — securing a historic World Title that celebrates both the athlete and the engineering behind the sail.
For founder and master sailmaker Claudio Badiali, this victory was the emotional culmination of years of dedication, sleepless nights, and constant refinement.
As he described in his RIWmag interview, the days surrounding the final races were filled with tension, adrenaline, and countless phone calls from athletes, friends, and supporters celebrating the achievement.
Winning a PWA World Title is never the result of luck.
It’s built on:
The CHS racing program is known for its detail-oriented approach:
panel-by-panel shaping, NASA-inspired profiles, meticulous tension distribution, and the signature S-Shape invented by Claudio Badiali — all contributing to the stability and acceleration needed to dominate slalom racing.
This philosophy proved decisive throughout the season, enabling the CHS rider to push harder, accelerate earlier and control the sail in every condition.
According to Claudio, the winning slalom model was the result of:
The sail’s speed came from its locked-in profile, smooth power delivery, and enhanced stability in gusts — essential traits for world-level slalom racing.
As Claudio explained, the relationship between the rider and the sailmaker was fundamental.
Communication evolved from technical feedback to intuitive understanding — eventually reaching the point where the rider could “speak almost with the eyes,” and Claudio would immediately know what adjustments were needed.
This synergy shaped a sail perfectly suited to the athlete’s racing style:
These elements came together precisely when it mattered most.
This World Title is more than a trophy.
It marks CHS as a brand capable of competing — and winning — against the largest manufacturers in the sport.
It solidifies CHS as:
And it proves a point that defines CHS since 1978:
performance comes from precision, not mass production.
(Typical setup for winning slalom conditions)
Sail: CHS Slalom Racing Model
Mast: SDM 100
Fin: Race Carbon Fin
Board: Slalom 72–85
Wind Range: 15–30 knots
(Voice of Claudio Badiali)
“We always knew our slalom sails were fast.
But speed is nothing without stability and balance.
The S-Shape, the panel-by-panel construction, the profile control —
these are the things that make a sail win a World Title.”
The 2022 PWA Slalom World Title stands as a historic achievement for CHS — not only as a racing victory, but as the validation of 45 years of passion, craftsmanship, and relentless pursuit of performance.
It marks a new chapter:
one where CHS competes at the highest level, not as an underdog, but as a proven winner.
From youth world titles to a World Cup victory and two wingfoil world records, this has been the most successful season in CHS history.
Here is a quick recap of the milestones achieved by athletes competing with CHS sails and wings in 2024–2025.
In 2025, the CHS Ikaros S1 became the first CHS wing to power an athlete to two official WSSR world records:
the 500-meter wingfoil speed record and the nautical mile wingfoil speed record.
This article recaps how the Ikaros S1 was engineered for speed — and why it set a new benchmark in the sport.
