Melbourne confirms Sailing World Cup Final for Kiteboarding

The 2016 Sailing World Cup Final set to be held out of St. Kilda sailing precinct in Melbourne, Australia from 4-11 December will see the Kiteboarders fly once again on Port Philip but this time, on foils.   The IKA Formula Kite (foil) class event will feature 20 competitors, 16 male and 4 female, the same as the Olympic events. In addition, there will be an Open Kiteracing event for sailors who have not qualified for the Sailing World Cup Final. This will be open to an unlimited number of male and female competitors.

The Qualification System for Kiteboarders wanting to compete at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final is available here - http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/onb.php.

Sailors who have qualified include:

• The winner of Sailing World Cup Melbourne 2015;
• The best ranked Oceanic competitor of Sailing World Cup Melbourne;
• The top 3 ranked male from the IKA Formula Kite World Championships;
• The top 3 ranked female from the IKA Formula Kite World Championships.

The remaining places will be assigned through the World Sailing Rankings - http://www.sailing.org/rankings/fleet/index.php
Invitations will be sent to qualified sailors on Friday 14 October 2016.
The competition format will be fleet racing in a qualifying/final series plus medal series. New course configurations (all based on windward/leeward courses) as discussed by the IKA formats working party will be used.
Sailing World Cup
The Sailing World Cup is a World-class, annual series of Olympic sailing for elite and professional sailors. Over 2,000 of the World's leading sailors, representing over 75 nations have competed in the Sailing World Cup which offers a definitive guide to the best-of-the-best in the Olympic sailing world.

(www.sailing.org)