 | |
| Abbreviation | IKA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2008 |
| Type | Sports federation |
Region served | International |
Chairman | Richard Gowers |
Main organ | Executive committee |
Parent organization | International Sailing Federation |
| Website | www |
The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), [1] is the only kiteboarding class inside the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). [2] The IKA class rules fall in the category of a development class.
The International Kiteboarding Association was founded in April 2008 by Guillaume Fournier (two-time kiteboarding world champion), after the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) had included the principle of surfers being propelled by a kite in the 'ISAF Equipment Rules of Sailing'. [3] Kiteboarding was adopted in November 2008 as an ISAF international sailing class. An Executive Committee is re-appointed by the class AGM. The duties of the Executive Committee are to take care of the day-to-day business of the association, and to coordinate submissions from the sub-committees.
The Executive Committee is:
Head of Communications and Public Affairs: Diego Massimiliano De Giorgi (ITA).
There are five disciplines with individual world rankings and world championships. [4]
The IKA is responsible for the management of the following World Sailing kiteboarding classes: [5]
Around 30 national kite class associations are affiliated to the International Kiteboarding Association and active fleets exist in more than 65 countries. [7]
Class Championships are run as 'one-off' competitions in the racing disciplines course racing, kite cross and speed, and as series of events for the expression disciplines freestyle and wave riding.
Professional Tour Operators exist that organize series of sanctioned events. These are:
French kiteboarder Sebastien Cattelan became the first sailor to break the 50 knots barrier by reaching 50.26 knots on 3 October 2008 at the Lüderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia. [22] Earlier in the event, on 19 September, American Rob Douglas reached 49.84 knots (92.30 km/h), [23] becoming the first kitesurfer to establish an outright world record in speed sailing. Previously the record was held only by sailboats or windsurfers.
The outright sailing speed record has since been claimed by the French trimaran Hydroptère which, on 4 September 2009, reached a speed of 51.36 knots over 500 meters and 50.17 over a nautical mile in open ocean and only 25 to 30 knots of wind. [24]
In October 2010, Rob Douglas became the outright speed world record holder on water powered by the wind with 55.65 knots, exceeding the previous record by more than four knots. [25]
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Kiteboarding is among the less expensive and more convenient sailing sports.
World Sailing (WS) is the world governing body for the sport of sailing recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Snowkiting or kite skiing is an outdoor winter sport where people use kite power to glide on snow or ice. The skier uses a kite to give them power over large jumps. The sport is similar to water-based kiteboarding, but with the footwear used in snowboarding or skiing. The principles of using the kite are the same, but in different terrain. In the early days of snowkiting, foil kites were the most common type; nowadays many kiteboarders use inflatable kites. However, since 2013, newly developed racing foil kites seem to dominate speed races and expedition races, like Red Bull Ragnarok and the Vake mini-expedition race. Snowkiting differs from other alpine sports in that it is possible for the snowkiter to travel uphill and downhill with any wind direction. Like kiteboarding, snowkiting can be very hazardous and should be learned and practiced with care. Snowkiting has become more popular in places often associated with skiing and snowboarding, such as Russia, Canada, Iceland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Northern and Central United States. The sport has become more diverse as adventurers use kites to travel great distances and sports enthusiasts push the boundaries of freestyle, big air, speed and back country exploration.
Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land and ice is progressively faster because of the lower friction involved. The World Sailing Speed Record Council is the body authorized by the World Sailing to confirm speed records of sailing craft on water.
Aaron Hadlow is a professional kiteboarder who has won the Pro Kiteboard Riders' Association (PKRA) World Championships five times.
Anna Sparre, born 1980, is a Swedish kitesurfer. She was, together with Christian Dittrich, the first Swede to enter the world cup (PKRA) in 2003.
Michael William "Gebi" Gebhardt is a former professional and Olympic windsurfer from the United States, who competed in five consecutive Summer Olympics, in the Olympic sailing discipline/event of windsurfing. He was born in Columbus, Ohio.
Kristin Boese is a German female kite surfer. In 2009, she was shortlisted by the International Sailing Federation for the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards.
Robert "Rob" Douglas is an American professional sailor known for using a kiteboard in speed sailing records attempts. In 2008 Douglas broke the world speed sailing record on a kiteboard, hitting a top speed of 49.84 knots. Douglas again became the holder of the speed record in October 2010 when he was clocked at 55.65 knots.
Bruno Sroka is a French male kitesurfer and adventurer. He is 3 times winner of the World Cup as well as 3 times European Champion in course racing. Bruno Sroka is the first and only man that crossed the Cape Horn by kitesurf and the first one that realized the unique Way of Peace project in the Gulf of Aqaba.
Katja Roose is a Dutch female professional kite surfer.
Julien Kerneur is a French professional kite surfer. He is sponsored by Ozone Kiteboarding.
Bruno De Wannemaeker is a Belgian sports administrator.
Francisco Lufinha, achieved several world records, namely the Fastest Atlantic Kiteboat Crossing (solo) in 2021 and the Longest Journey Kitesurfing in 2015. He is a completely passioned by nautical sportsman. Taken aboard a boat by his parents only 15 days after he was born, he was never able nor wanted to let go of the sea again.
Christophe Tack is the 2014 World Champion Freestyle Kitesurfer.
Jesse Richman is a big-wave kitesurfer and a big-air kiteboarder. He is a two-time world champion and the first kitesurfer to get barreled at Jaws. He is also known for his world record 790-foot tow-up and 170-foot jump over land.
Sofia Tomasoni is an Italian kitesurfer and winner of the women's Youth Olympic title in Twin Tip Racing in 2018. Sofia was the first woman to ever win an Olympic title in the history of kitesurfing. She ranked first in the world for Twin Tip Racing in the years 2017 and 2018 before switching to the Formula Kite discipline.
Gisela Pulido Borrell is a Spanish kitesurfer. In 2004, she became the sport's youngest world champion, at age 10. She has subsequently won multiple world titles.
Formula Kite is the kitesurfing class chosen by World Sailing for 2024 Summer Olympics. The class features a foil kite and a board with a hydrofoil. The equipment is not one-design, but instead competitors use their choice of approved production equipment. The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) manages the class. The class is for men and women.
Mikaili Sol is an American-Brazilian professional kiteboarder. She has held the title of Global Kitesports Association (GKA) Freestyle World Champion six times: 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.