Disciplines

Freestyle

GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cups are the ultimate competitions for Twin-tip Freestyle riders, who perform a constantly-updated series of tricks to earn points from the judges and advance through the knock-out contest.

In pure Freestyle contests athletes use the power of the kite to go as fast as possible in order to “pop” off the water. The aim is to achieve the greatest height and amplitude possible, combining that with the execution of technical, aerial tricks. The scoring also focuses on the power and commitment to each trick, together with the smoothness of the landing.

If conditions are unsuitable for pure Freestyle—with too much wind—the heats may be run in a pure Big Air format. The ladder may be contested in a mixed format of exclusively Freestyle heats and Big Air heats, if conditions vary during the competition.

For a more detailed explanation of the discipline please click here or download the Rulebook with all important information.

Kite-Surf

The Kite-Surf discipline aims to find the most complete surfboard rider. The championship is contested over a series of pure wave events, pure strapless-freestyle and mixed format events, depending on the conditions.

In the pure wave events, riders are judged on their ability to surf the wave. Choosing the best waves gives the riders the greatest opportunity to showcase their skills, as it offers them the longest rides on the steepest faces.

In the absence of good waves, the discipline may be staged in a strapless-freestyle format, where the athletes are prohibited from using foot straps. Here the competitors perform tricks—jumps, rotations and kiteloops—off the small waves that act as take-off ramps.

The third, mixed format, is a combination of the two styles. Both best wave rides and best trick scores will count towards the heat total.

For a more detailed explanation of the discipline please click here or download the Rulebook with all important information.

Hydrofoil-Freestyle

GKA Hydrofoil-Freestyle World Cups are the ultimate competitions for hydrofoil-freestyle riders. This spectacular discipline exploits the efficiency of the hydrofoil, the power of the kite and the athleticism of the riders who can make enormous jumps even in lighter winds. The riders’ skill allows them to execute incredible aerial manoeuvres, with rotations, kiteloops and board flips that add extra style and technical difficulty.

Particular emphasis is placed on the smoothness of the trick’s landing because of the difficulty posed by the hydrofoil. Whether the athlete is able to land without the board touching the water is rewarded accordingly by the judges.

For a more detailed explanation of the discipline please click here or download the Rulebook with all important information.

Big Air

The breathtaking Big Air discipline is the fastest-growing category of kiteboarding. Athletes compete in the strongest winds and can achieve heights of 30 metres and travel more than 100 metres downwind.

The Big Air discipline is divided into three categories: Twin-tip, Surfboard and Hydrofoil. In each category the height, amplitude and explosiveness the athletes achieve is the biggest element of the judged scores.

One of the judging criteria is the “wow” factor of the tricks like single, double and even triple kiteloops, with added rotations, board-offs and grabs. This combines with the variety, smoothness and risk factor, as well as the proportion of tricks landed set against those crashed, is decisive for who wins the competition.

For a more detailed explanation of the discipline please click here or download the Rulebook with all important information.

Youth

Who’s who?

World Sailing (WS) is the international federation for the sport of sailing in all its forms – including kiteboarding on the water. World Sailing is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the organisation of kiteboarding at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games and for potential showcase kiteboarding events at the 2020 Olympic Games. In particular, World Sailing regulates kiteboarding through a tripartite partnership with the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and the Global Kitesports Association (GKA).

Following that trilateral agreement,

GKA – The GKA is responsible for all expression performance disciplines. Such disciplines are in particular wave, strapless-freestyle, big-air, freestyle/wake-style and park. The GKA itself runs two of the four disciplines: Surf (wave & strapless-freestyle) and Freestyle (twintip big-air & freestyle). Event-organizers and athletes who are interested in running or participating a World Cup Event in one of those two disciplines are welcome to contact the GKA.

KPL – The discipline Park (slider/obstacles) does not have an official World Tour status jet and is organized by Kite Park League (KPL). Anyone who is interested in that discipline should contact the KPL.

IKA – The IKA is responsible for all race-events (all disciplines which have a starting line and a finishing line). Under the jurisdiction of IKA are Formula Kite with regulated hydrofoiling equipment, the Gold Cup (any foiling equipment including prototypes) and the Youth Olympic Games (Boarder Cross format on TwinTip:Racing equipment). All event-organisers who want to run a World and/or continental level event in the discipline Race, Speed and/or Slalom have to contact the IKA. Riders who want to participate at a Race and/or Slalom event or at the Youth Olympic Games have to contact the IKA.

Contacts

GKA: info@global-kitesports.org

KPL: info@kiteparkleague.com

IKA: info@internationalkiteboarding.org