"It's difficult for us to check if the new Starboard Go Fly board & foils are working well. So we asked a 14 years old gear (typo: should be girl) (without planing skills) to get on the board to try windfoil. As you can see the board has a very typical V shape, so the board glides into planing condition and then takes off itself. So we have this board & foil for our lessons. We think it's the best board in the market to start windfoiling. "
I think in a lot of ways it's of benefit if they skip normal windsurfing (looking at the kids learning at yacht clubs getting into iq specifically) a lot of what you have to learn to make normal kit go well has to be "unlearned" when you start foiling. The dynamics are quite different in a lot of ways. And the fearlessness of youth makes learning the foil somewhat easier too. It's the right time to start.
my opinion on the matter has nothing at all to do with being able to run circles around them (for a bit) when they do eventually decide to try normal gear.
Windfoiling offers a lot more sailable days - especially in marginal conditions from 8/10 knots... whereas windsurfing is really fun from 15+.
Also, there are some balance points and techniques that are in opposition between foiling and windsurfing (windward rail down on foil, up on fin) and other balance points / sail controls that are quite different.
So, in a way it might be easy to not learn these techniques rather than re-learn once foiling.
If you have the gear or want to fly... go straight to foils IMHO!
