Wereldwijd zijn we natuurlijk maar een klein sportje....
Maar qua afkortingen doen we gewoon met de grote jongens mee hoor, de GKA wil zijn ei kwijt over de IFKO, IKA en WS....veel leesplezier 
The Global Kitesports Association (GKA) official statements, regarding its' position on:
- IFKO / IKA / WS
- IKA / KRU
- WAVE EVENTS
- GKA GRAND SLAMS AND RIDER OF THE YEAR AWARDS |
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IFKO / IKA / WS
The GKA remains neutral in the dispute between IFKO, IKA and World Sailing (formerly ISAF). The GKA member brands will not prohibit their sponsored riders to participate at IFKO events but will recommend that their riders focus 100% of all their competition activities on the GKA-Grand Slam events.
The GKA and its members do not officially support the IFKO events in 2016. The GKA will not recognize any title announced by IFKO and not in line with the rules of World Sailing.
The GKA hereby calls upon IFKO, IKA and WS to rectify the dispute internally, without publicly blaming each other via the media or through publishing press releases; which serve to create nothing but an environment of uncertainty. If clarification cannot quickly be achieved, the parties in dispute should come to a settlement by handing the case over to an ordinary court.
The GKA hereby calls upon IFKO, IKA, WS and WKT to not ban riders from their events if riders participate in another event run by another association. So far all 'sanctioning bodies' failed to set up reliable events and a sustainable tour. That sorry circumstance must not prove to be to the disadvantage of the riders and their sponsors. The GKA will not accept any banning of riders by any association whatsoever or any organizer. |
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IKA / KRU
The GKA remains neutral in the dispute between IKA and KRU. The GKA and its members accept the decision of KRU not to sign an agreement with the IKA (or WKT). The GKA welcomes the founding of KRU and the work they do for the freestyle riders. At the same time the GKA calls upon KRU to act wisely. Event organizers of the GKA-Grand-Slams appreciate the full support of the GKA and they should not be confronted with unrealistic demands. |
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GKA GRAND SLAMS AND GKA RIDER OF THE YEAR
In February the GKA officially announced the following events would count as 'GKA Grand Slam' events for 2016, for the disciplines freestyle and / or big air:
- King of the Air (successfully completed)
- Leucate / France (confirmed)
- Dakhla / Morocco (to be confirmed in April)
- Fuerteventura / Spain (to be confirmed)
- Triple S / US (confirmed)
- Fehmarn / Germany (confirmed)
The results of those six GKA-Grand-Slam events will count toward the ranking for the GKA Freestyle Rider of the Year ranking.
(El Gouna was never announced as a GKA Freestyle Grand Slam event, due to the official travel warnings by several European governments.)
The GKA Freestyle Rider of the Year (male and female) will be crowned at the last freestyle event in the year (Fehmarn / Germany) and additionally again at a planned GKA Award end of year ceremony in December / January in Cape Town.
The announcement of a GKA Grand Slam event is not dependent on a sanctioning-agreement between the event-organizer and IKA or WKT, or any other agreement between the organizers and third parties.
GKA-RIDER OF THE YEAR
The crowning of the GKA-Rider of the Year (wave and freestyle) will be recognised along with a comprehensive and world-wide information and marketing campaign to all kite-related media for the benefit of the winners and to further unite the sport.
We hope to be able to provide prize money for the GKA-Rider of the Year (wave and freestyle), but the total amount has not yet been confirmed.
For information about the GKA-Grand-Slam events and the GKA-Rider of the Year Award (ranking, pointing-system, rules, dates) go to the GKA webpage:
