Bermuda could host an International Kiteboarding Event in the very near future. Markus Schwendtner the International Kiteboarding Association Chief Executive Officer was on island scout potential location to host the event.
Kiteboarding is attempting to gain entry into the Olympics, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has indicated interest in granting ISAF additional medal(s) to include Kiteboarding in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, IOC made very clear that "another fleet racing event" is not an option.
IOC requirements are:
limited field of play short races new scoring formats (elimination, round robin) elimination towards the end explore jumping
A full report on IOC requirements background and recommendations can be found here for download
ISAF has therefore decided to include a new Kiteboarding format in the ISAF Sailing World Cup from 2014 to further explore courses and formats, and to showcase them to IOC.
The new Sailing World Cup will be turned into an elite annual series for professional sailors, and the proposed new Kiteboard racing format ideally fits this new concept. The full new Sailing World Cup concept is available here for download
The key points of this concept are:
Entry to each sailing world cup limited to the top 25 sailors of each class The top 10 after all Sailing World Cups qualify for the Grand Final The winner of the Grand Final is the undisputed World Champion
To make this concept attractive to sailors and MNAs alike, all events will offer excellent media coverage to showcase the sailors and their sponsors, and a considerable amount of prize money (after the transition period).
To include the possible Olympic Kiteboarding format into the new Sailing World Cup, a clear competition structure has been developed.
