Kiteboarding is in the Olympics...Oh wait no it's not. Windsurfing is back in for 2016. In what appeared to be a continuation from May 2012 ISAF the "governing" body of sailing continued to show their inability to lead our sport in a decisive manner. The decision to remove Windsurfing and then allowing it to be reaffirmed cast no doubt that the process and those involved in said process were flawed. As a Kiteboarder I was excited by the prospect of being in the Olympics. It seemed to give us some sort of validation. As if we were really apart of the Sailing community. But then the vehement backlash from Windsurfers every quickly squashed those feelings. I don't think any Kiteboarder's wanted Windsurfing to be kicked out but as soon as Kiteboarding was in and Windsurfing was out then it became our fault in the eyes of windsurfing. Our safety was questioned, our performance was questioned, and our cost effectiveness was questioned. Well I have news for everyone. We are a safe aspect of sailing that is inexpensive and as of today is still the fastest form of sailing.
So while I am disappointed by the exclusion from 2016 Olympics I am excited to not have our sport confined by the Olympic pipeline. I want to show how much more superior our discipline is than any other type of Sailing. I want to show how we can go faster and further. I want to see development in boards and especially in kites. Perhaps I am an optimist but I see this as a positive opportunity for
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
February 2022
AuthorBrock Callen |
Ocean Extreme Blog
Kiting, Sailing, Racing, News