Another step towards kiting in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil

[ricki]

This just in today ...

"First hurdle taken: ISAF events committee confirms Trials for Kiteboarding in the Olympics !
Thursday, 05 May 2011 15:30

An important step has been taken today for Kiteboarding being part of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016. The ISAF events committee confirmed on their mid-year meeting in St. Petersburg, that Kiteboarding will be evaluated alongside windsurfing for both men and women, with a decision to be taken in November 2012. "

More at:
http://www.internationalkiteboarding...ral&Itemid=140


and I came across an article in the NY Times from February on the same subject ...


"Olympic Sailing Looks to Go Extreme

By CHRIS MUSELER
Published: February 9, 2011

The world’s top Olympic sailors were in South Florida reading wind and waves aboard two-person dinghies, keelboats and windsurfers at the recent Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. The sailing lineup has not really been altered much in the last 20 years.

But that is about to change, and this regatta provided a sneak peek into the sport’s future.

While Olympic medalists were being towed to their courses, kiteboarders skimmed along at twice their speed attached to inflatable kites at the end of 80 feet of razor-thin lines.

A new Olympic slate of classes for 2016, proposed last fall by the International Sailing Federation, or I.S.A.F., has turned the traditional sailing fleet on its head in the hope of attracting young viewers and higher television ratings, creating a sort of X Games for sailing. If men’s and women’s kiteboarding is selected, it will replace windsurfing.

“The Olympics want to promote the most advanced levels of sailing,” said Mike Gebhardt, a two-time Olympic medalist in windsurfing who raced his kiteboard in Miami. “This is high speed, visibly athletic, there are crashes, and you can tell who’s winning. That’s what sells.”"

Continued at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/sports/10sailing.html



Michael "Gebi" Gebhardt about to land in Islamorada


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[ricki]

Garry Menk of Jimmy Lewis and an active kiteboarding racer made a post on the situation ...

"Boards in the Olympic Sailing regatta - mixed, team, and, or, and/or ?
Friday, 06 May 2011 14:47

While everybody seems to be focussed on the ongoing fight between dinghies and keelboats it should not be forgotten that the boards - kiteboards and windsurfers - are still in a different situation.

One of the topics during todays council meeting was the meaning of "mixed events" in kiteboarding or windsurfing, or, what kiteboarding AND windsurfing in one event could mean. For clarification: as two medals for each kiteboards and windsurfers seem to be unrealistic at the moment, there should be a way to showcase both sports at the Olympic Games, as they represent youth and media appeal probably more than any other sailing class, attracting a new each audience in addition to the coat-and-tie yachtsmen in the harbours."

CONTINUED AT: http://kiteracing.com/forum/index.ph...sg1026#msg1026