Windsurfing’s Rapid Global Diffusion: The Evolution of a 1970s Technology-First Sport

Figures & data

Table 1. Estimated windsurfing board sales (1972–1993) in USA, Germany and France including gross totals for Western Europe and the World (varied sources).

Year	USA	Western Europe	Germany	France	World
1972	484^a	90^a	10–30	5–20	574^a
1973	703^a	1,400^b	500–750^b	200–350^b	3000
1974	920^a	6,000^b	3,000^b	2,000	–
1975	1,176^a	20,000^b	9,000^b	7,000	–
1976	1,507^a	50,000^b	20,000^b	23,000	60,000
1977	–	–	–	–	–
1978	–	–	–	–	–
1979	–	–	–	–	–
1980	25,000	240,000	80,000^c	85,000	290,000
1981	–	–	–	–	–
1982	–	–	–	–	–
1983	70,000	290,000	100,000^d	120,000^e	400,000^f
1984	–	–	–	–	–
1985	–	–	–	–	–
1986	50,000	300,000	80,000	90,000	390,000
1993	30,000	130,000	45,000	50,000	190,000^e

Unless otherwise stated figures represent estimates. Years 1972–1976 (USA) and 1972 (Western Europe) is data from the producer of one product, the Windsurfer from one production plant. It is therefore likely to be accurate data. Sources. ^aThe Original Windsurfer, Timeline: 1972–1976 [five separate online archived pages] e.g. 1972 https://web.archive.org/web/20160812054715/http://www.originalwindsurfer.com/site/main_1972.html. ^bPeter Brockhaus, email message to author, June 15, 2023. ^cEEC Commission Decision, Article 85, Windsurfing International, EEC, July 11, 1983, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:31983D0400&from=DE. ^dMartina Czadilek, ‘Die Entwicklung des Windsurfens unter Berücksichtigung sportmedizinischer Aspekte zur Planung einer Sommersportwoche’, Thesis, U. of Graz, 2021: 16. ^eArnaud Sébileau, ‘Time of Olympism, Time of Builders and Time of the Media: The Relative Views on Change of Venues. The Case of Windsurfing Promoters and the “Fun” Discourse’, Sciences Sociales et Sport 1, no. 4 (2011): 41–64. ^fUS Sailboard News data cited in Steven Greenhouse, ‘Europe Gaining in U.S. Sailboard Battle’, The New York Times, August 17, 1987.