Kitesurfing at Olympic Games 2016

9 November 2012 – New CIO decision: Windsurf is back to Olympic Games, Kitesurf is out.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has confirmed that kitesurfing will replace windsurfing at Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

The ISAF Council decided that kiteboarding should debut in the Olympic Games, both in Men’s and Women’s category. In November 2011, an evaluation group was appointed to examine kiteboarding formats with the board events for Rio 2016 defined as “windsurfing and/or kiteboarding”.

The Evaluation Group recommended to include Kitesurfing in the ISAF Sailing World Cup and the ISAF Sailing World Championships. he Council have done one step further and has decided to include Kitesurfing ar Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

The ISAF Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Committee will consider and make further recommendations to Council on the implementation of the inclusion of kiteboarding at their meeting in November 2012 at the ISAF Annual Conference.

“These announcements mark a new era for sailing and we welcome the new classes into the ISAF family. The equipment selections have fulfilled the criteria set out by the Evaluation Panel and we look forward to seeing kitesurfing at Olympic Games 2016, but the ISAF Sailing World Cup and ISAF Sailing World Championships”, says ISAF President Petersson.

“Kiteboarding has proven to us that it is ready to be included into the list of ISAF Events and it is a fantastic addition to the sailing programme for the 2016 Olympic Games.”