Kiteboarding: a wind sport with many water and land disciplines | Photo: Shuttterstock

Kiteboarding is a multidisciplinary wind sport that can be practiced almost everywhere. Discover the different "types" of kiteboarding.

The sport of kiteboarding combines the characteristics of several action sports, including surfing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, skateboarding, paragliding, and sailing.

And because riders are propelled by kite wings, they may execute tricks and maneuvers in a wide variety of wind-affected environments, either in the water or on solid ground.

Kiteboarding is fundamentally a free ride sport that combines acrobatics with acceleration. As a result, this highly addictive outdoor pastime ended up developing various semi-autonomous disciplines.

Artistic gymnastics is divided into the following events: vault, floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, uneven bars, parallel bars, balance beam, horizontal bar, and balance beam.

The same happens with kiteboarding. Take a look at the different types of kite sports:

Wave Kitesurfing

The term "kitesurfing" says a lot about this discipline. Wave kitesurfing is nothing more than surfing with a kite.

The goals are similar to surfing - to ride a wave and execute flashy tricks on the open face, to get barreled and throw aerial moves.

Kitesurfers often use surfboards to ride their kites in the waves.

Wave kitesurfing: riding waves propelled by a kite | Photo: Red Bull

Strapless Kitesurfing

A combination of freestyle, big air, and kitesurfing. Athletes ride strapless surfboards and perform a wide variety of maneuvers.

Strapless kitesurfers believe their discipline allows them to experience the sport to the fullest without limits or strict rules.

They ride waves and flat waters alike and also take to the skies.

Freestyle Kiteboarding

Freestyle is one of the most popular disciplines in kiteboarding.

Riders fly C kites and try to perform unique, radical, and complicated maneuvers and rotations, as well as hooked and unhooked tricks.

Traditionally, freestyle kiteboarding is a water sports discipline mainly inspired by wakeboarding, snowboarding, and skateboarding.

Speed Kiteboarding

The goal of speed kiteboarders is to achieve the maximum speed on a 500-meter course.

In fact, kiteboarders are the fastest boardsailors in the world, beating windsurfers by more than four knots.

Big air kiteboarding: a dangerous discipline | Photo: Red Bull

Big Air

Big air kiteboarding is a popular and ever-growing discipline focused on the height of the jumps and the amplitude of maneuvers.

It is one of the most dangerous classes in kiteboarding, with its kite loops, board-offs, hang time and complex rotations that sometimes result in breathtaking wipeouts.

Slalom/Boardercross Kiteboarding

A kiteboarding format in which athletes compete against each other in short races and have to jump over one-meter-high obstacles before crossing the finish line. Riders use twin-tip boards.

Course Racing

A high-performance racing division in which riders apply their speeding and tactical skills to win races using hydrofoil boards.

Snow kiting: kiteboarding on snow | Photo: Red Bull

Snow Kiteboarding

Snow kiteboarding gets riders on snowy mountains riding slopes like waves.

The class blends some of the aspects of snowboarding and skiing and the standard riding techniques of kiteboarding.

Kite Buggying

An inland kiteboarding class where a rider sits in a kite buggy and accelerates on solid ground before getting airborne and performing maneuvers.

Pilots use traction kites to harness the power of the wind.

Land Kiteboarding

The discipline, also known as land kiting or kite landboarding, gets kiteboarders riding kites in terra firma.

Instead of twin-tips and surfboards, riders use land boards, a crossover between snowboards and skateboards.

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