Feb 2, 2013

KSP Releases 2013 World Championship Tour Schedule

June 27 to July 6, 2013  —  Guincho, Cascais/Portugal
  • July 25 to August 2, 2013 — Jinamar, Gran Canaria/Spain
  • October 31 to November 9, 2013 — Shacks/Puerto Rico
  • November 22 to December 1, 2013 — Ho’okipa, Maui/USA
2013 KSP Qualification System Released
Berlin, Germany — February 2, 2013: Long awaited by riders and industry alike, a press releases announcing the application process and further details on the qualification system for the 2013 KSP world tour season was released by the IKA (International Kiteboarding Association) today.
As the governing body of kiteboarding that sanctions the KSP, the IKA continually strives to develop rules and regulations that help further the sport. At the IKA Annual General Meeting on January 20, the KSP qualification and application as well as future pathways for young and upcoming riders were discussed in detail and agreed on by all parties.
Following the release of the 2013 KSP World Championship Tour schedule the IKA published the following release earlier today:
International Kiteboarding Association, February 2, 2013: Striving to create lower level qualifying events on a national and continental level leading up to the KSP World Championship Tour in the future, this years KSP qualification system will be based on applications and include the IKA member national associations, national championship results (where existing) and the IKA wave world ranking once again.
Slots for the 24 riders male fleet are allocated as follows (for the womens fleet, 50 % of the quota each)
  • Top 10 ranked riders from the 2012 KSP ranking
  • 1 wild cards for KSP tour
  • 1 wild card for IKA
  • 2 local wild cards per event (as agreed on with the events Industry Sponsors)
Remaining slots will focus on globalization/the inclusion of more nations – this means except from the slots above, only riders from nations that are not yet represented are accepted. If there are more nations applying then slots are available, places are given in the order of regional strengths until all slots are filled (in the order South America, Europe, North America, Africa, Oceania, Asia, then from the beginning again). The IKA executive committee may deviate from the order of regions and nations in order to ensure highest quality of the selected riders, e.g. require a minimum of competition experience, results and/or performance to be expected.
If there are less nations applying then slots are available, then additional places are given to nations in the order of regional and nation strength.
If more than one rider applies from a nation eligible for a slot, then the national association nominates the rider. If no national association exists, then the IKA executive committee after consultation with the KSP will decide.
If any of the pre-allocated slots are not taken by the riders, these slots go to the pool for the nations.
If slots are not taken shortly before the event, they may be filled with local wild cards or, if possible, alternate riders from the waiting list on a first come-first serve basis.
All applications need to be made through the online application forms until March 1st to be considered.
Online application form for individual events and local wildcards:  http://kspworldtour.com/index.php/riders/2013-one-event-and-lwc-application.html