The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of World Sailing has confirmed the official line-up of events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The sport of kiteboarding will make its debut in the Olympic movement in France with a foil board, and a ram air kite.
The 2024 Olympic sailing events and equipment are as follows:
Men's Windsurfer: RS:X
Women's Windsurfer: RS:X
Men's One Person Dinghy: Laser
Women's One Person Dinghy: Laser Radial
Mixed Kite: TBC
Mixed Two Person Dinghy: TBC
Women's Skiff: 49erFX
Men's Skiff: 49er
Mixed Two Person Multihull: Nacra 17
Mixed Two Person Keelboat Offshore: TBC
The equipment rules for kiteboarding's first appearance in the Olympic Games are as follows:
Board concept: Foiling;
Weight range (Men): 65-85 kgs;
Weight range (Women): 50-70 kgs;
Kite size (Men & Women): 7-21 m2;
Kite system: Ram Air;
Number of authorized kites per event: four high performance, high-aspect ratio kites;
Number of authorized hydrofoil systems per event: one high performance, high-aspect ratio hydrofoil system;
The wind range for the Olympic kite competition is of between 5 and 40 knots.
All Olympic kite equipments must be available worldwide without restrictions. World Sailing, in cooperation with the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), will manage and control the builders' licenses.
The chosen equipment will be "locked" per Olympic cycle to ensure confidence and reliability in gear investment and a controlled evolution from one event to the next.
This means that the official equipment should adopt the current Formula Kite class, which allows different models from different manufacturers to compete against each other on an Olympic level playing field.
In terms of competitive format, we should expect a short track relay on a short windward/leeward course, with team members (men and women) sailing laps and taking turns on a changeover zone.
Competition may consist of an opening series of heats and a knockout stage or another form of final (i.e., the best of x races wins).
"Through the years, it was always our goal to keep the whole community and industry involved and not to go down the single manufacturer or one-design road," explains Markus Schwendtner, executive secretary of IKA.
"In the Youth Olympic Games, we had registered series production equipment for the first time, and it was a great success. I am thrilled that we have also achieved this as the equipment criteria for Paris 2024. Formula Kite will ensure that we retain the spirit and identity of kiteboarding."
