The 2011 wave kiteboarding world championship will feature a new and innovative scheme – for the first time in kiteboarding history the titles in the wave discipline will be decided through a 2-tier world championship series!
The first stage of the Championship series will be run through the PKRA world tour. With a series of not less than six wave events scheduled for 2011, the battle will be fierce to win one of the coveted tour cards that will allow participation in the world championship finals. The PKRA has produced excellence in a wide variety of disciplines over the past 10 years and will provide a high-level platform for enthusiastic wave riders world-wide to prove themselves.
The second stage – the finals – will be run by the Kite Surf Pro (KSP), a new tour created by a group of the worlds finest wave riders including PKRA Wave Committee members Guilly Brandao (Wave World Champion 2010), Mitu Monterio (Wave World Champion 2008), former boarderX World Champion Sky Solbach as well as 9 time kiteboarding world champion Kristin Boese. The intention of the Kite Surf Pro is to hold events purely focused on wave kiting in so-called “dream locations", attracting the world’s best wave riders to battle it out for the title in stellar wave conditions.
Qualification for a spot in the KSP is only possible by competing and placing on the PKRA World Tour or by getting one of the few wildcards that will be available through application to the IKA or the local organizer.
For the 2011 season the top 8 male riders (and 4 female) from the 2010 PKRA tour season are already qualified. Another 8 slots are available through the 2011 PKRA world tour ranking until one month before the start of the Kite Surf Pro (not before September 2011. Dates to be announced). The number of participants is limited to 24 men and 12 women, ensuring ample time to run events in only the best wave conditions and with sufficient heat duration.
For the 2012 season the world championship finals seeding will be comprised of the defending top half of the 2011 world championship ranking as well as the top 8 male and top 4 females from the 2011 PKRA season.
Details concerning tour cards and how to apply for one of the available wild cards will be published shortly.