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Kitemovement Team wishes everybody a Happy 2009

For the first time, Al Gharbia will play host to the ultimate international kiteboard World Cup, to be staged in Abu Dhabi, Mirfa, from March 22 to 29, 2009.

The 2009 Al Gharbia World Cup, is expected to draw the majority of the world’s top-ranked male and female competitors in Kiteboarding

Action will be intense, with all the discipline to be staged at one location on Abu Dhabi famous Mirfa.

The Kiteboarding event boasts international sanctioning with valuable competition points and rankings as part of the Kiteboard Pro World Tour (KPWT) World Cup and IKA world Ranking sanctioned by Isaf (International Sailing Federation).

It will feature 32 male and 12 female riders in a relentless freestyle competition, vying for their chance to share in the 30 000 euros Kiteboarding prize money on offer.

The event, Al Gharbia Kiteboard World Cup provides the platform for the KPWT to launch its first Kiteboarding event in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

KPWT Promoter Frederic Gravoille said the inclusion of Al Gharbia World Cup in the World Tour represented a positive evolution for the sport.

Bringing the KPWT to Abu Dhabi is a great opportunity not only for the KPWT, but for kiteboarding as a whole, he said. “

In terms of sport possibilities, new riding conditions, and media it couldn’t be better.

We’re excited to be aligned with Al Gharbia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which represents truly world-class competition for both athletes and spectators. This fantastic outcome is the result of a long and successful collaboration.

The Al Gharbia Kiteboard World Cup will attract new water sports visitors and millions of television viewers worldwide.

Vision from the event will be distributed to national and international broadcasters throughout Europe, Asia, United Kingdom, North America, South America, Middle East, South Africa and Australia, and will be seen by more than 400 million people worldwide.

[Source: KPWT]

The Kiteboard Pro World Tour (KPWT) has published a full schedule for the 2009 title.

The competition is to kick off in March, in Abu Dhabi.

There are two dates to be confirmed: Canada and the United Kingdom.

The 2009 KPWT is now the official kiteboard world championship, sanctioned by ISAF and IKA.

This is the 2009 KPWT World Tour schedule:

ABU DHABI - March 09
ITALY - May 09
GERMANY - June 09
TURKEY - July 09
GREECE - July 09
PORTUGAL - July 09
FRANCE - August 09
CANADA - August 09 TBC
UK - September 09 TBC
MOROCCO - October 09
BRASIL - November 09

[Source: KPWT]

A lot of guessing is around about the IKA structure and its sub-committees. This article gives you a brief overview about who is who and who is doing what. However, the final nominations for the sub-committees are up to the IKA conference end of January.
The IKA has started back in 2006 as an initiative of riders and organizers involved in the kitespeed-worldcup, but not limited to them. This is still the core part of todays IKA, the part that worked with ISAF since a long time and that achieved official recognition in November 2008.
Read more…