Page 1 of 4

Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:49 pm
by tautologies
Insanity Wolf figured it out...

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:51 am
by wdric
Ya it is a shame the Olympics is no longer a sport for the masses.
But there are plenty of sports that are not in the Olympics and are doing just fine.
I am sure it will go from strength the strength and the question is does the sport even need/want to be part of the Olympics at all?

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 5:19 am
by tautologies
wdric wrote:Ya it is a shame the Olympics is no longer a sport for the masses.
But there are plenty of sports that are not in the Olympics and are doing just fine.
I am sure it will go from strength the strength and the question is does the sport even need/want to be part of the Olympics at all?
true, but being in the olympics would lend legitimacy to spots that are being threatened with a ban I don;t think it is a do or die.., but I think the way in which ISAF has handled this and handled themselves makes them look like amateurs.
I think it would be fun to watch kiting in the olympics..

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:03 pm
by ronnie
I think incompetent is a better word.

In April, their technical committee by an extremely big majority voted to keep windsurfing, having studied the pros and cons and passed that on to the next level of the process.

The windsurf reps were complacent, some didn't seem to even understand the situation in their own countries and what way their own area or country would want them to vote. One even claimed to have accidentally voted for kiting and kiting got in by one vote.

The kiters made a very good sales pitch and the ISAF council didn't know enough to know how much of it to believe.

In November everyone had woken up and the vote went 68% to put windsurfing back in so the ISAF were left with a big majority of their council indicating that they had screwed up in April, but it wasn't a big enough majority to change things back.

Then the AGM put things back to the way they were.

I dont think sailing is a big draw for a TV audience and the Olympics is now very much an entertainment event that has to pay its way. I think that is why they found kiting so attractive in that it was a showbiz type of sailing and the kite race reps like Johnny, Damo, Kristin and Steph are very impressive when sailing and talking.

Those things wont change and the last 5 months have shown a few things.

The Olympics is/would be a big mover in expanding kite racing.
Most of the changes that kite racing would need to work in the Olympics have now been worked out and a lot of them incorporated into the kite racing rules.
Kiting was not really expecting to get in for 2016 at the start of 2012, and assuming they pitch again for 2020, they will have a much stronger case.
The RSX sailors could have converted fairly easily to kite racing and would have been a very strong segment of the kite racers trying for medals in Rio. There will be much greater strength in depth at the top of kite racing in 4 years.

Rio is going to be a light wind venue and might have been particularly unsuitable for kite racing anyway. Maybe they will have a demo event there and we will see what it would have looked like?

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:16 pm
by wrogu
ronnie wrote:I think incompetent is a better word......

.....
Rio is going to be a light wind venue and might have been particularly unsuitable for kite racing anyway. Maybe they will have a demo event there and we will see what it would have looked like?
There was a 'demo event' already.

Image

:lol: :wink:

I am quite happy kitesuring is gone from the Games. Keep the sport core. Yet IMHO it would be fair to have both WS and KS in. WS deserves to stay - it has a great history, KS is imho still an uprising sport. The major gear elovultion-revolution happened like .... 5-6 years ago.

However I can understand that people who live in countries where there are many spots banned hoped for a change.

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:34 pm
by john a
First let me just say, I was the one having a presentation of kiting for the national sail organisation over here on be half of the national kite association some years ago. But having seen the development the last period I´m not sure racing in the olympic was such a good thing for the image of the sport after all. Sure it would be great to see the sport get more acknowledgment, and to see more money in to the sport, and to get it more known among the average joe. But the thing is kiting for most kiters is more like snowboarding, and racing on snowboards are not the coolest thing. Sorry to say so, nothing against racing, but it´s not the best way do show a actionsport to the world. I would rather have freestyle in the olympics. It a more impressive part of the sport to watch. So I´m 100% sure it´s only a bad thing kiting is not getting in to the olympics this time. And seeing how these sailing associations work, well maybe maybe we´re better of not getting dominated by then as a sport. I like the action sport image, and would hope to see that part of the sport grow and get more known, that´s more of the unique part and the essence of kiting. Again nothing wrong with racing, they are incredible fast, but what do we want people to think kiting actually is?

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:56 pm
by kitesurfrabbi
First let me just say, I was the one having a presentation of kiting for the national sail organisation over here on be half of the national kite association some years ago. But having seen the development the last period I´m not sure racing in the olympic was such a good thing for the image of the sport after all. Sure it would be great to see the sport get more acknowledgment, and to see more money in to the sport, and to get it more known among the average joe. But the thing is kiting for most kiters is more like snowboarding, and racing on snowboards are not the coolest thing. Sorry to say so, nothing against racing, but it´s not the best way do show a actionsport to the world. I would rather have freestyle in the olympics. It a more impressive part of the sport to watch. So I´m 100% sure it´s only a bad thing kiting is not getting in to the olympics this time. And seeing how these sailing associations work, well maybe maybe we´re better of not getting dominated by then as a sport. I like the action sport image, and would hope to see that part of the sport grow and get more known, that´s more of the unique part and the essence of kiting. Again nothing wrong with racing, they are incredible fast, but what do we want people to think kiting actually is?
xgames here we come!

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:02 pm
by bullet
id rather see kiting in the x games then the olympics and would love to see snow kiting in the winter x games.

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 4:34 pm
by TheJoe
We would be much better of in the X-Games than the Olympics. With in the X-Games you could show case more styles and get a better mass appeal from it. I all so see this as a better option as Red Bull is a major sponsor of both kiting and the Games. It would have an easier way in than groveling in front of the sailors.

Re: Soooo..anyone think ISAF is corrupt?

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 6:08 pm
by swell
Without Olympic status kiteracing turns (or stays) a richkid-sport with no financial support from national goverments. "Lost" 2 years of training and hoping that maybe one day ...
Not saying that it was no fun doing all that stuf, but now it will probably turn into something recreational and not sportive for me.