The team at the International Kiteboarding Association remains in regular contact with all our event organizers to continuosly evaluate the situation of the 2020 championship events.
Although we are starting to see the first signs of restrictions on normal daily activities being relaxed, both the legal situation to hold events (with or without spectators) and the international travel situation remain difficult.
This update covers event updates, class rule changes, and advise for getting back on the water safely.
Event Updates
June
The KiteFoil World Series event Traunsee has been postponed. No sporting events are allowed in Austria at least until the end of June.
Replacement dates are either 12-16 August, or 16-20 September depending on the developments in the travel sector. We expect the next update on this event in the middle of June.
July
The KiteFoil World Series event in Gizzeria unfortunately had to be cancelled as no events can be held in Italy until August and there are no options to postpone the event. Gizzeria will return to the event calendar in 2021.
August
The Formula Kite Individual European Championship in Poland is expected to be held as planned. The event organizers are fully committed in hosting the event. A final decision however can only be taken once travel within Europe can resume without quarantaine restrictions.
September
The Formula Kite Individual World Championship in China is expected to be held as planned, provided that international travel can resume without quarantaine restrictions.
October
An update on both the KiteFoil World Series event Cagliari and the Formula Kite Mixed World Championship is expected later this months. With the information available at the moment, we hope that both events can take place as planned.
November
The World Series event in Zhuhai is expected to be held as planned, provided that international travel can resume without quarantaine restrictions.
The Beihai event, postponed from earlier in the year, may serve as Formula Kite Asian Championship, or as fallback option for international events planned earlier in the year that cannot be held as planned.
December
December is holding a number of unconfirmed options for events both in the south of Europe as well as in South America. The current situation doesnt allow further planning at the moment, but we are committed to use all options until the end of the season to reschedule events that cannot be held otherwise.
2021 ff
Given the difficult situation where we might have to face event cancellations, we offer our event partners the first pick to hold a similar event in 2021. In addition, IKA is making the usual preparations for the 2021 season to give competitors and teams as much planning safety as possible under these circumstances.
Class Rule Changes
The class rule changes approved by the General Assembly in February 2020 have not yet been processed by the World Sailing office.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, most of the World Sailing staff is currently in furlough for unknown duration. We therefore do not know when the approved changes will be published on the World Sailing website.
We would like to remind all competitors and teams, that from the 2020 season onwards, nationality flags on hulls and helmets in accordance with the approved class rules are mandatory for all Formula Kite events. The Notices of Race will include this requirement as long as the class rule changes have not been processed and published.
Please note that only class approved designs for nationality flags shall be used and need to be applied at the correct places (see picture above). Using non-compliant flags (or not displaying flags at all) will result in standard penalties.
The artwork for the flags as well as the class insignia can be downloaded from the following link:
https://www.formulakite.org/equipment/nationality-flags
Getting Back on the Water Safely
In many countries kiteboarding is now a justifiable form of daily exercise, or allowed as training activity for individual sports. The details obviously depend on the regulations in each individual country.
Kiteboarding is a naturally social distance compliant activity. However, when travelling to the beach please minimise your stops/interactions and potential transmission routes for the virus to spread and be mindful of your actions in order to keep kiteboarding an allowed activity.
Some general rules to consider:
- Do not flout the government / regional rules in place. Breaking these will result in privileges, such as going kiting, potentially being removed if infection rates rise.
- Kite safer than usual. Do not take unneccessary risks.
- Be aware, reduced rescue provision is currently in place. Take a form of communication with you at all times.
- Kite at your familiar spot as close to your home as possible.
- Be safe, have fun and lead by example.
The BKSA, our national member class association in the United Kingdom, has published some excellent information and flyers that are worth having a look at. See https://www.britishkitesports.org/news/phase-one-return-to-kitesports/
We look forward to seeing you all on the water as soon as possible. Until then, #staysafe.
