Chennai, May 9 (FN Agency) The first ever All India Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Championship will be held at Kovalam on the East Coast about 40 km from Chennai cikty, from May 11 to 14. It will be conducted by the Chennai Sailing Academy (CSA) under the aegis of Tamil Nadu Sailing Association with the support of the Youth Welfare & Sport Development Department. More than 48 top Windsurfers and Kiteboarders from over 16 states representing 14 Clubs, including the Indian Army and Indian Navy Sailing Clubs, will be taking part in the 4-day event. This is a ‘Ranking Event’ authorized by the Yachting Association of India which is the Federation for the sport of sailing in India administered by the Indian Navy under the stewardship of its president who is the Chief of Naval Staff.
This Championship will be held at Surf Turf beach in Kovalam off ECR and will be inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on May 11. This venue is very popular due to it fame for being a premier surfing centre and for its annual International Surfing Festival, a CSA release said today. The iQFOiL is a foiling windsurfer board and the IKA Formula Kite is a Foiling Kiteboarding discipline which both are debuting in the Paris Olympics 2024. “We will see them in action at this event along with other classes of boards and sails. This event being one of the Ranking events, it is crucial for athletes to compete fiercely since their performance determines if they will represent India in the Asian Games 2023 and other International competitions”, Arun Vasu, a pioneer in water sports in Chennai and the founder of Surf Turf and Arun Miranda, Vice President of CSA AND Chairman of the event. Windsurfing and Kiteboarding is a visually appealing sport with their colourful sails and kites and the thrill of seeing them skim over the water at high speeds is great optics for the public and water sports enthusiasts. The CSA is keen to promote and popularize this sport along the long Tamil Nadu coastline of over 1,000 kms.