Surf Today Kiteboarding

The president of the International Federation of Kitesports Organizations (IFKO) wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with two requests and six questions.

Diogo Fernandes is asking Thomas Bach to overturn IOC's negative influence over the governance of all kite disciplines.

The sport of kiteboarding is currently under the governance of World Sailing, via International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and Global Kitesports Association.

The world's best professional freestyle kiteboarders are about to kick off a new season.

The first event of the year marks the end of an era. The World Kiteboarding League (WKL) is no longer the official tour of freestyle. It has been replaced by a brand created by the Kiteboard Riders Association (KRU).

KRU wants riders to run the show. They do not want companies taking over the competitive format, the prize money politics, and the selection of the venues.

Pat Goodman has been announced as the new Chief Kite Designer of North Kiteboarding.

The decision comes one month after the end of the partnership between the North Technology Group (NTG) and Boards & More, co-founders of the kiteboarding brand.

An industry authority on kite design and innovation for the past 18 years, Goodman's ability to understand and translate rider requirements into high-performance kite designs puts him among the world's most awarded, respected and successful kite designers.

Airton Cozzolino is pushing big air kiteboarding forward so fast that his opponents can't even get close to his flow of new tricks and hang time.

The 2018 GKA Air Games Sotavento will go down as one of the greatest big air events of all time, not only for the competitive side of it but also for what Cozzolino did.

The truth is that he's riding bigger kites, and he makes it look easy.

Florian Gruber and Sofia Tomasoni have claimed the 2018 TwinTip: Racing (TT:R) World Championships, in Gizzeria, Italy.

After a faltering start, the local kite star, Tomasoni, was able to keep her composure and put an exclamation mark on the last day of races. It's her first world title as a senior rider.

"I have no words to explain what just happened in the past five days. This is where I learned to kite. This is where my family is. I managed to change my mindset. I'm stoked!" expressed Sofia Tomasoni, who had already won the TT:R youth world title in the past.

Xantos Villegas, a 32-year-old kitesurfer from Mexico, climbed the podium to accept the gold medal at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games held in Barranquilla, Columbia.

This is the first time the Formula Kite class is included in the regional games of an Olympic cycle and represents a historic moment for the sport.

The gold was secured after Xantos won first place in fourteen out of the fifteen races over the course of four days. The wind conditions were strong, blowing at 19-25 knots per day, while the protected bay provided flat waters.

Carlos Mario and Mikaili Sol have taken out the 2018 GKA Air Games Cabarete, in the Dominican Republic.

The event had perfect wind conditions. In the finals day, Carlos combined his new school freestyle expertise with classic moves, including creative wake-style tricks, and board-off triple front rolls.

"I had a good result here, and I worked very hard for it. I want to congratulate all athletes - the level is very high - and Jesse, an incredible rider to compete against," said Mario.

North Technology Group (NTG) has announced it will make a significant investment in its brand North Kiteboarding.

The company is bringing the design, innovation, and manufacturing of its products home under the umbrella of the group and ending its third-party licensing agreement.

The decision arrives weeks after the announcement by Boards & More, the co-founders of North Windsurf and North Kiteboarding, that they were set to launch a new brand - Duotone - on August 1, 2018.

Are you ready to buckle up your kite harness? Attach your safety leash and learn what you should know before choosing a waist, seat or boardshorts harness.

The harness is one of the most important equipment items in kiteboarding. Choosing the right harness for your body and style of riding is critical.

It connects you to the kite bar, transferring the pull of the kite from your hands to your body, but it is often overlooked in the kiteboarding world.

Guy Bridge and Daniela Moroz have taken out the 2018 Formula Kite European Championships in Warnemünde, in the north of Germany.

After a long week of racing with wind conditions ranging from six to 25 knots, the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) crowned two new Old Continent champions.

The 81st edition of the Warnemuender Woche had 59 riders from 18 nations and four continents, who battled for medals in eight qualifying races, and eight final series races.

A 14-year-old teenager became the youngest person to kitesurf across the English Channel.

Adam Farrington rode his kite from Swanage Beach, in England, to Cherbourg-Octeville, in France, in five hours and 19 minutes.

The schoolboy from Ferndown battled rough seas, 25 mph winds, and had to dodge a few large container ships as he navigated the busy shipping lane.

Jesse Richman won the first-ever GKA Kiteboarding World Tour Air Games event, in Tarifa, Spain.

After the wind failed to appear in Leucate, the world's best big air kiteboarders were able to fly high in the skies of Europe's wind sports mecca.

The Air Games format requires athletes to complete tricks in three categories: big air (including board-offs), handle-passes and kite loops.

What happens when you combine kiteboarding, wakesurfing, and foiling? Well, the answer could be a bit complicated.

How about kite tow-in wake foil surfing? It is something like that. Whatever you call it, and according to the creative water sportsmen, this is a world's first.

Laurent Sublet and Jerome Falconnat merged two water sports - kiteboarding and wakesurfing - and a new discipline that is common to both boardsports.

When you think of a tropical destination with superb conditions for kitesurfing, Maui is one of those places that will always make you a better rider.

Once hailed the best island in the world, Maui is also often considered the world's windsurfing capital; a place where wind-and-water sports enthusiasts put their skills to test.

But it is also one of the birthplaces of kiteboarding. The world's first kite competition was held in Maui, in September 1996, and won by Marcus "Flash" Austin.

Nick Jacobsen is not a fan of competition. Instead, he prefers to inspire people through life-threatening, one-off projects.

This time, he joined the Kitesurfing Armada for a side-off event that involved colored smoke, similar to what the military uses for signaling landing or target zones.

Twenty-four hours after watching David Hastilow, and friends performing a kite formation display that included red, white and blue smoke, the Danish kiteboarder decided to do the same... towed by a boat.

Graham Howes and Nick Jacobsen went on a crazy adventure to the Faroe Islands to ride their kites on Sørvágsvatn, also known as Leitisvatn or the "Floating Lake."

Turquoise water, coconuts, and palm trees are trending. People flocking to paradise to fill their Instagram feeds with smoothy breakfast bowls and bikini shots. Well, one thing was sure - Howes and Jacobsen wanted none of that.

"The idea came about in Cape Town over summer. Everyone was booking their tickets to Bali, Tarifa, and Cabarete," Graham Howes tells SurferToday.com.

Matchu Lopes and Moona Whyte have taken out the inaugural Viana World Cup, in Viana do Castelo, Portugal.

The third stop on the 2018 Global Kitesports Association (GKA) Kite-Surf World Tour got underway in the beautiful coastal city located in the north of Portugal.

Cabedelo Beach is famous for its "Nortada" wind, and it is also the spot chosen by the PWA World Cup to run this year's slalom and freestyle events in Portugal.

When we talk about maps, it's safe to say that details matter. A lot.

In 2010, a German surfer named Simon Schuetz was searching for a world map with the best surf spots, but he didn't find what he was looking for.

That's when he decided to found Awesome Maps, a startup based between Berlin and Bali that makes illustrated world map posters for the active traveler.

Brandon Scheid and Karolina Winkowska have taken out the 2018 Triple-S Invitational, at Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina.

It's been hailed as the most prestigious wake-style kiteboarding contest on the planet and, this year, the Triple-S Invitational got underway in all wind directions.

Once again, 34 riders put their skills to test and attacked the two kickers, 82-foot A-frame, 56-ft rooftop rail and 45-ft reverse rainbow on offer.

A kitesurfer lost his life at Crown Memorial State Beach, in Alameda, California.

Alameda firefighters received a call at 4:25 pm for a kitesurfer in distress. A 73-year-old general surgeon was found in the water unresponsive and facing down by bystanders and fellow kite riders.

They dragged him to the beach and performed CPR, although there was no sign of life from the man, who had been flying his kite at San Francisco Bay.