It's been entertaining no doubt. Voters confused as to whether they were voting kiting or windsurfing (Spain/Israel - see the press)lol

Lets take a look what these confused voters read before they voted - some extracts from the Olympic reports on kitesurfing

Olympic Kiteboarding Evaluation Reports Given to Voters


Shore requirements are minimal and existing venues should be able to cope easily

Less that 3-4 knots prevents kiteboarders from starting to launch

Safety Issues are slightly different for kiteboarding (to sailing)

Technical Report given to voters

Cheapest entry into Olympic Sailing for emerging nations

There have been safety issues in the past which have been overcome since app. eight years.

Kiteboards can be launched of every beach.

Least expensive of all Olympic sailing classes.

Kiteboards can be on the plane in 4-5 knots.

Kiteboarding is the quickest sailing sport to learn – sailing is possible already after a couple of ours training on the beach, and competitive level can be reached within a few months.

All the steps taken above have truly made kiteboarding a safe sport and are obvious to any sailor

Although kiteboarding accidents still happen, they are rare and usually limited to people overestimating themselves and their skills or underestimating weather and wind conditions. Kiteboarding does carry a certain risk in itself in the learning stages without proper instruction. Just like sailing, kiteboarding needs to be learned in a certified school and by a qualified instructor so that safety systems and the basics of the sport can be fully understood. If these steps are taken and kiteboarding is approached with a logical understanding of the equipment and elements, it is no more dangerous than any other sport.

The Olympics have a long tradition of delegates voting in unexpected ways because they have been bribed to. I'm not saying that has happened in this case though, I wouldn't have thought kite-boarding has that sort of money. I can't see though how delegates can "accidently" vote for the wrong sport.

And y'all wonder why the Pimp-lympics gets hated on ... Corporate whores! Line up with your check books here!

that is what i'm talking about.

olympic officials are bunch of ignorant suits with a questionable morality.

and some of us are waiting in anxiety for their "divine" approval, so we can solve our pathetic little problems or hope to boost our kite gear or instructor businesses.

you guys should take your heads out of your arses.kitesurfing in the olympics is a good thing it means more people seeing our sport and more people starting out in kitesurfing.
As for any corporate stuff,come on evry sport has a coporate sidehow else would anybody sell there stuff,so come on grow up !!!

No stressing! Out of interest, as a kiter (please quote number of years riding /achievements), do you feel comfortable what you read in my post as representing kiting to those that know very little about it?

Terje Håkonsen had experiences as mentioned above. I say, say it how it is, don't bull5hit. we know in kiting that the way to stay safer and enjoy it more, is to face up to reality, the past and the present, without painting a fairytale picture of spin for Olympic lobbying. Kiteforum has been sooo awesome for educating so many riders about the reality of kiting by publishing accidents for example and not brushing them under the carpet, something to learn from. As a 12 year veteran kiter, I get pissed of to see the olympics pimping such utter bull5hit!

Anyway I choose my battles, and went racing today, it was pretty fun in 22 knots. Raceboards rock upwind, but are the biggest pieces of sh1t ever for downwind but you just have to deal with it cos the upwind angle normally outway the downwind legs by sooo much. I beat some raceboards on a surfboard though yeeeaahh, surfboard a waste of time if serious though. I raced hard out but just couldn't get anything like the angle upwind. A naish torch doesn't get any awards as a racing kite either lol spent almost the whole time with my hand on the depower adjusting.

..."The Summer Games of 2008 were seen by a cumulative audience of 211 million Americans through Saturday ..."

Quote from :
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/2 ... 21012.html

& that is from Just the USA !!

SO -- how many people world-wide will be watching and Wishing they could
do what we kite-boarders do ; as they live , (( Vicariously )) through their TV set
and watch the kites Race ?

Bille

This bizarre story is about how Surfing New Zealand wants to run kite-boarding in this country in order to gain access to Olympic sports funding.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/6911063/Surfing-yachting-fight-for-the-rights-to-kites
It says something about our laissez-faire culture that we haven't need a national body until now. Unfortunately the spokesperson for Surfing NZ doesn't seem to realise that kite-boarding in the Olympics is a yachting class and that the format is course-racing.

So what? We gonna get PAID, bitches!
All I see in that article is money money money ...

Think about it

Are you really really sure you (we) want more people starting out kitesurfing ??