Kitesurfing is one of the most outstanding developments in the Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2016. So far, 27 editions of the Summer Olympic Games have been held, but this year will be the first time for athletes and fans of kiteboarding to participate. The International Sailing Federation has decided to include this sport as an Olympic discipline as of this year.
The new Olympic classes represent a revolution in the concept of sailing. The changes are substantial in some disciplines; for instance, windsurfing in the RS:X model will disappear as well as the women's match race which competes with Elliot 6m and with Star, one of oldest classes. In the women category, a skiff starts making part of the competition and there were attempts to include the Mackay FX which is nothing but the 49er hull but with the rig adapted to the girls; there were also other models considered such as the 29erXX and the RS900. Also, in the multihull category, the Nacra 17, catamaran -which will be mixed- has been the one chosen.
The new Olympic classes represent a revolution in the concept of sailing. The changes are substantial in some disciplines; for instance, windsurfing in the RS:X model will disappear as well as the women's match race which competes with Elliot 6m and with Star, one of oldest classes. In the women category, a skiff starts making part of the competition and there were attempts to include the Mackay FX which is nothing but the 49er hull but with the rig adapted to the girls; there were also other models considered such as the 29erXX and the RS900. Also, in the multihull category, the Nacra 17, catamaran -which will be mixed- has been the one chosen.
Image courtesy of Steve Voght at Flickr.com
The big appearance of kiteboarding in the Olympic Games -a discipline with thousands of fans but that breaks with the classic example of what the Olympic sailing concept had been until now- is due to its evolution, the unstoppable rise of fans, and its competitiveness. For these main reasons, kitesurf is from now on another Olympic sport. This piece of news has had an effect of excitement on athletes and fans who have been celebrating, especially in the Canarias and Tarifa. These places, where the sport has been practiced the most, are a pilgrimage destination for 'Kite' lovers in Europe. Likewise, fans and sportsmen practicing kitesurf in South Florida -where the sport has become very popular and the number of people doing it has amazingly increased- are actually preparing along with the thousands of fans to the kite around the world. Some of them might see this great event as a “one-lifetime” opportunity for them to represent their country in the Olympic Games and do awesome things for the sport.
According to Borja Rodriguez, 'kite' trainer for more than a decade, "It is no longer a sport for the few, but for a large majority." In addition, he finds this a great opportunity to appeal to the authorities so that there are less prohibitions and provide more permissions to practice the sport.
Although this innovation in the Olympic Games has made many people happy, there has been a lot going on behind the decision. There has not been an open debate about giving continuity to windsurfing class whose last gold medal winner is the Spanish Marina Alabau, in London 2012. This situation responds to the fact that it has not achieved the 75 percent of votes in the ISAF Council for the reopening of the debate; 32 votes out of 42 members are needed for this purpose. The organizing committee for the Olympic Games of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) endorsed the proposal presented at the Annual Conference held in Dun Laoghaire, in Ireland. However, the proposal was not accepted. The Federation of Belarus, the Yachting Union of Latvia, the Polish Yachting Association, the Romanian Sailing Association and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation presented the same proposal to the Committee with the aim of re-include windsurfing into the Olympic Games, which was excluded from them in benefit of kitesurfing or kite sailing, as an Olympic class at the 2016 edition.
According to Borja Rodriguez, 'kite' trainer for more than a decade, "It is no longer a sport for the few, but for a large majority." In addition, he finds this a great opportunity to appeal to the authorities so that there are less prohibitions and provide more permissions to practice the sport.
Although this innovation in the Olympic Games has made many people happy, there has been a lot going on behind the decision. There has not been an open debate about giving continuity to windsurfing class whose last gold medal winner is the Spanish Marina Alabau, in London 2012. This situation responds to the fact that it has not achieved the 75 percent of votes in the ISAF Council for the reopening of the debate; 32 votes out of 42 members are needed for this purpose. The organizing committee for the Olympic Games of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) endorsed the proposal presented at the Annual Conference held in Dun Laoghaire, in Ireland. However, the proposal was not accepted. The Federation of Belarus, the Yachting Union of Latvia, the Polish Yachting Association, the Romanian Sailing Association and the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation presented the same proposal to the Committee with the aim of re-include windsurfing into the Olympic Games, which was excluded from them in benefit of kitesurfing or kite sailing, as an Olympic class at the 2016 edition.
Image courtesy of Patrick Hoesly at Flickr.com
The proposal presented was somewhat similar to the Judgement of Solomon as it considered the two following classes: the male kitesurfing would be replaced by mixed teams, in other words, with a male competitor and another female; and the female kitesurfing would disappear in favor of mixed windsurfing with teams also including both a male and a female competitor. The document also states that the decision made by the ISAF of choosing kitesurfing as Olympic class sport had had a lamentable impact on one of the most popular classes in terms of participation and global diffusion as it was the case of windsurf. Additionally, the document indicates that kitesurfing is a rather new sailing discipline that many people find fascinating but that has been proved to be ready to be part of such an important Olympic event of ISAF. However, it also mentions the very low female participation kitesurfing has in the World Championship as in 2009, only 7 women took part in the event and in 2010, there were only 8 women involved. The document also brought up the fact that the rules of kitesurfing are not yet ready and it is important to consider the time it would take to start competing in a standard and consistent manner to the level of an international championship.
Interestingly, after presenting all this information, windsurfing lost its status as Olympic class at the last bi-annual ISAF Congress after a tight vote in which the Council approved the kite as an Olympic class by 14 votes to 13.
Interestingly, after presenting all this information, windsurfing lost its status as Olympic class at the last bi-annual ISAF Congress after a tight vote in which the Council approved the kite as an Olympic class by 14 votes to 13.