What about kiting in the olympics?

[bigcane]

I think high performance hydrofoil racing is well suited for the Games. Best bet would be to select suppliers from amongst the top kites and foils 1 year before the games (ie no alu masts or tube kites). Then provide this equipment to the racers for use during the Games only. All other events could continue to be open design as now. The worst way forward would be to do what windsurfing did, select outdated, slow, heavy, boring and pricey gear from a monopoly supplier and make a one design class. That would be awful.

[edt]

Tks graeme. So what you're saying is they need us because sailing is boring and kiting is sexy. I guess we have no choice in the matter.

[Cab Driver]

hope you're right mossy. from above link no way this proposal passes get rid of two sailing classes and windsurfing for kiteboarding ?

I think that article is printed way too early and it's controversial and will be read a lot => good for advertisers on that website. The windsurfing class in the Olympics is actually one of the few positives with a relatively low cost compared to the other classes, a growth trend, and a large number of countries with supported programs. It is very true that sailing is believed to be under performing in the Olympics mostly due to the fact that it's not well viewed and also often located far away from the main events of the games. The IOC has repeatedly asked for more excitement from the sailing disciplines. I think there is a lot of hashing out still to come and it will be very interesting.

[Toby]

Tks graeme. So what you're saying is they need us because sailing is boring and kiting is sexy. I guess we have no choice in the matter.

That's what I heard too. WS wants to stay Olympic...

[Mossy 757]

Anyone remember when Neil Pryde said they'd release the FR:X as a big-brother to the CR:X? Curious to see how that pans out as the latest rumor I heard was that the one design foil they had selected for that class was based on the latest and greatest Delta Hydrofoil design. If that's the case, that class will be on a one design foil that's extremely close to the highest performance open-class gear currently in use. Knowing Neil Pryde they'll probably put the class on something like a Velocity/Apollo and totally ruin it for everyone...

[kiterocky]

Kite olimpics=more people in kite=more problems=more spot beaches close...was better when more underground

[GraemeF]

Here..

https://youtu.be/fJRLtwvHA_0

I think they got all of 12 entries, probably a bunch of 'bro's' rounded up to make a 'display' hardly the several hundreds across four weight groups we had in the hey day of the windsurfer class in the late seventies - early eighties which gave the grass roots push for Olympic inclusion, then again the US gave us synchronised swimming ffs so what else can we expect from our colonial cousins?

It's funny earlier this year I had a guy on the phone bending my ear asking for advice about distributing kites, I should have known then when he said it was a Neil Pryde kite, I just thought it was some rich bloke looking for a hobby for his kid like usual, only this time he'd signed up for mission impossible.

[Mossy 757]

Here..

https://youtu.be/fJRLtwvHA_0

I think they got all of 12 entries, probably a bunch of 'bro's' rounded up to make a 'display' hardly the several hundreds across four weight groups we had in the hey day of the windsurfer class in the late seventies - early eighties which gave the grass roots push for Olympic inclusion, then again the US gave us synchronised swimming ffs so what else can we expect from our colonial cousins?

It's funny earlier this year I had a guy on the phone bending my ear asking for advice about distributing kites, I should have known then when he said it was a Neil Pryde kite, I just thought it was some rich bloke looking for a hobby for his kid like usual, only this time he'd signed up for mission impossible.

I think it's important to reiterate that literally NOBODY is talking about CR:X becoming the Olympic class. I talked to Brendan at NP about the CR:X class quite a bit when it was being rolled out and it's definitely designed to be more of a "Sunfish" one design class than a "49er" one design class.

[PinkNorthPride]

Here..

https://youtu.be/fJRLtwvHA_0

I think they got all of 12 entries, probably a bunch of 'bro's' rounded up to make a 'display' hardly the several hundreds across four weight groups we had in the hey day of the windsurfer class in the late seventies - early eighties which gave the grass roots push for Olympic inclusion, then again the US gave us synchronised swimming ffs so what else can we expect from our colonial cousins?

It's funny earlier this year I had a guy on the phone bending my ear asking for advice about distributing kites, I should have known then when he said it was a Neil Pryde kite, I just thought it was some rich bloke looking for a hobby for his kid like usual, only this time he'd signed up for mission impossible.

I think it's important to reiterate that literally NOBODY is talking about CR:X becoming the Olympic class. I talked to Brendan at NP about the CR:X class quite a bit when it was being rolled out and it's definitely designed to be more of a "Sunfish" one design class than a "49er" one design class.

Apparently there was a meeting a couple of months ago at which it was suggested it's a done deal... seriously why would Neil Pryde (who own Cabrinha) roll out a product in a sector in which they have zero credibility, conduct next to no marketing (have you seen an advert in the kite press) if they didn't already have the requisite 'authorities' in their 'influence'. If this was a genuine bid, it would have come from Cabrinha, or North if like back in the days I was involved with the North organisation and we had the requisite resources and lobbyists to pull off an Olympic bid. No, this at best is Bet Hedging and at worse it's us backing lame Sailings attempt to stay in the Olympics - that is all.

Let's get the sticker presses rolling.. We're Kite.... Flyers - Not sailors, Pilots - not Helms, Riders - not Crew, Kitesurfing is NOT a discipline of Sailing.

[Mossy 757]

Apparently there was a meeting a couple of months ago at which it was suggested it's a done deal.

Can you share more details about this meeting? I'm not saying you're wrong, but think about what you're saying for a second...Neil Pryde is betting that Nico Parlier is going to ride CR:X gear at the Olympics. I just don't think they're deluded enough to think that the current crop of top racers will regress their equipment by 80% of the current performance available on open-class gear. Sure, NP owns Olympic windsurfing and knows all the right people to get a kiting medal, but in order to achieve their evil goals (as you laid them out) they'd need to be betting that Axel Mazella would rather have a gold medal on CR:X than not have a gold medal on CR:X, and I don't think that's accurate. I think CR:X is their attempt at a YOG discipline and FR:X will be their shot at an adult Olympic class, but of course we don't have anything other than rumors about FR:X at the moment.