Issue date
Yachting New Zealand hosted a meeting on Wednesday May 16th to get all those interested in kiteboarding racing in the same room to discuss a plan for future direction. Over sixty people turned up for a discussion which has already prompted some action in the formation of organized racing in NZ.
The Olympic kiteboard racing format is being developed by ISAF and equipment selection will be made in time for Sail Melbourne December 2012. Sail Melbourne will be the first ISAF World Cup event to include kiteboard racing, and it will be course racing around buoys
Common round the buoy courses for kiteboard racing include: windward leeward, box courses and slalom similar to that of windsurfing. Usually, course racing is run over a series of up to 16 races which are each race is 10- 15 minutes in duration.
At the moment, there is a box rule for kiteboard racing equipment in place. For the board the current rule is 190cm long by 70cm wide and must be production certified. Each sailor may measure in three kites per regatta; this also must be production available ‘off the shelf’. Kite sizes usually range between 7 sqm to 18 sqm.
Read more about kiteboard racing from the International Kiteboarding Association here.
