Kite surfing has attracted some windsurfers and the two sports often share the same locations and conditions. Some clubs affiliated to Windsurfing NZ are combined windsports clubs with both sports catered for, including combined events in some cases.
The death of a Nelson land boarder at Wakapuaka on Christmas Eve was a tragic accident and part of the implicit risks involved in the sport, a coroner says.
Coroner Carla na Nagara gave her findings into the death of experienced kite and land boarder Ruben Laas at an inquest held at the Nelson District Court yesterday.
Mr Laas was killed at the Wakapuaka sand flats from blunt head and chest injuries after he was repeatedly slammed into the ground in a kite boarding accident.
I have been surprised and shocked by many 'experts' regarding kite-boarding being in the Olympics. In a recent article, the 'ex – pope' of yachting encouraging the decision makers to 'have courage and have a leap of faith and replace windsurfing with kite surfing' tops the lot. They may have been seduced by the high numbers of recreational kite boarders around or kite boarders’ impressive speeds and jumps. In my opinion anyone supporting kite surfing in the Olympic Games is ignoring a number of serious issues relating to the sport.
The Kitesports Challenge scheduled for March 6-7 is now rescheduled to 26-27 March at Waikuku Beach. We'll be camping at the Holiday Park for those keen. The Yoda Comp scheduled for March 20 is also likely to be rescheduled to happen during the Kitesports Challenge at Waikuku - to be confirmed by Cookie.
There are plenty of ways to travel 2000 kms in comfort, safety and speed. Riding ocean waves on a board smaller than an ironing table holding a kite is not one of them. So what was Louis Tapper thinking when he made the world record attempt - kite-surfing solo 2000kms of Brazilian coastline? And more importantly - how did he turn this dream into a reality? Admission by $10 donation to Red Cross earthquake appeal. Social drinks from 6pm, presentation starts at 7pm.
'Kite Cross is only one of the possible kiteboarding formats for the Olympic Games, but surely a spectacular crowd pleaser !' Rick Schwendtner
The deadline for the submissions to be made for the 10 Olympic Sailing Events is approaching fast - it will be March 10, 2011. One of the most debated issues behind closed doors is surely the question on what 'Board OR Kite-Board' exactly means, as it was decided by the ISAF council during the 2011 ISAF annual conference in Athens.
The deadline for making submissions to the ISAF Mid Year Meeting in St.Petersburg, Russia is 1200hrs UTC on March 10th. The statistics show that there are 2.9 million windsurfers in Germany alone. Extrapolate that world wide and it's easy to come to the conclusion that there are more windsurfers on the planet that any other sort of sailor. The bad news is that there are supposedly serious and responsible people within ISAF who think that windsurfing and kiteboarding should be combined into one event as a biathlon. If this was not so serious, it would be laughable. Both the windsurfing and the kiteboarding communities are strongly against this idea. Small and emerging sailing nations will be quick to understand that this will double the cost of the 'boards' medal and exclude a lot of them because they either don't have a kitesurfer or a windsurfer worthy of a place in the Games.
The heat between kiteboarders and windsurfers is on. As the wind riders fight for the last sailing ticket into the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, in Rio de Janeiro, the International Kiteboarding Association and the RS:X Class have published an identical article on the "10 reasons why..." their sport should go Olympic.
There are plenty of ways to travel 2000 kms in comfort, safety and speed. Riding ocean waves on a board smaller than an ironing table holding a kite is not one of them. So what was Louis Tapper thinking when he made the world record attempt - kite-surfing solo 2000kms of Brazilian coastline? And more importantly - how did he turn this dream into a reality? Admission by $10 donation to Red Cross earthquake appeal. Social drinks from 6pm, presentation starts at 7pm.
The deadline for making submissions to the ISAF Mid Year Meeting in St.Petersburg, Russia is 1200hrs UTC on March 10th. The statistics show that there are 2.9 million windsurfers in Germany alone. Extrapolate that world wide and it's easy to come to the conclusion that there are more windsurfers on the planet that any other sort of sailor. The bad news is that there are supposedly serious and responsible people within ISAF who think that windsurfing and kiteboarding should be combined into one event as a biathlon. If this was not so serious, it would be laughable. Both the windsurfing and the kiteboarding communities are strongly against this idea. Small and emerging sailing nations will be quick to understand that this will double the cost of the 'boards' medal and exclude a lot of them because they either don't have a kitesurfer or a windsurfer worthy of a place in the Games.
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