Calendar of the most exciting international kitesurfing competitions of 2025

Everything is ready for the start of the 2025 kitesurfing competition season, which will set the planet's most famous spots ablaze with a packed calendar of events. It promises to be a year full of adrenaline and strong emotions, with top-level international challenges dedicated to this spectacular discipline. Enthusiasts can expect a particularly intense programme, with events spread over almost every month of the year and in every corner of the globe.

A great spectacle in the water to be followed live for the most fortunate, but also recounted now in hundreds of hours of live streaming, images and videos catapulted in real time on the web and social channels.

There are two main competitive circuits that will focus all the attention on the strongest athletes in the world ready to challenge for the various world and European titles, as well as to collect precious qualification points for the next Olympic Games where the discipline of kitesurfing has now become a fully-fledged competing class.

GKA Kite World Tour 2025

The first event is the GKA Kite World Tour 2025, the prestigious world circuit entirely dedicated to the disciplines of Kitesurf Wave, Freestyle and Hydrofoil Big Air, which promises to be particularly intense, spectacular and full of novelties. There are no less than 11 events on the calendar, all distributed in those classic destinations that have made the history of kitesurfing in the world: Cape Verde, France, Brazil, Morocco. This year, however, completely new stages and locations will be added.

In fact, the GKA Kite World Tour 2025 is being sponsored for the first time by Qatar Airways, and new events include those organised in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

GKA Kite World Tour 2025: new stops in the UAE desert

Abu Dhabi, with its spectacular turquoise sea setting, modern look and chic atmosphere, will be the theatre for Freestyle competitions. On the other hand, Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea, will inaugurate the Hydrofoil Big Air season, a discipline that is increasingly popular for its spectacular performances, even in light wind conditions.

The two cities, with their mix of tradition and innovation, will certainly offer an extra exotic touch to the competitions and a unique experience for both athletes and spectators.

Eyes on the Hydrofoil Big Air, class on the rise

The GKA Kite World Tour 2025, as we said, will offer a large space to the new Hydrofoil Big Air discipline, which will have no less than 3 dedicated stages. The class represents an exciting innovation in the kitesurfing scene as it allows riders to take advantage of lighter wind conditions and explore new ways of jumping and manoeuvring. The riders will perform spectacular tricks and breathtaking stunts, demonstrating the incredible technical, physical and mental evolution that this watersport has now reached.

Freestyle and Wave Kitesurf will also continue to play a starring role on the GKA Kite World Tour 2025, with crucial stops such as those set up at the famous Ponta Preta spot on the Cape Verdean island of Sal, at the Ibiraquera and Ceará spots in Brazil, and then on to Salinas del Rey in Colombia and Dakhla in Morocco. All destinations known and appreciated by enthusiasts and pro riders for their flat lagoons, crystal-clear waters and perfect waves.

The complete GKA Kite World Tour 2025 calendar: stages, dates and spots

Here is the complete list of stages and their respective dates on the GKA Kite World Tour 2025 circuit:

• Sal, Cape Verde: 14-23 February
• Atlantic, Colombia: 12-16 March
• Barcares, France: 29 March-27 April
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: 31 March-3 April
• Abu Dhabi, UAE: 5-13 April
• Dunkirk, France: 20-24 August
• Sylt, Germany: 26-31 August
• Tarifa, Spain: 2-7 September
• Dakhla, Morocco: 5-10 October
• Ibiraquera, Brazil: 25 October-1 November
• Ceara, Brazil: 4-11 November

Watch the GKA Kite World Tour 2025 Trailer:

Formula Kite: many races ahead of the Olympic Games

Equally eagerly awaited is the competition season dedicated to the Formula Kite discipline, which, we recall, is the kitesurfing class chosen by World Sailing for the Olympics. The class provides male and female athletes with a foil kite and a hydrofoil-equipped board as equipment. The competition equipment is not monotype, thus conditioned by strict class rules, but competitors use their choice of mass-produced equipment approved by the race committee.

Again, the calendar of events is particularly full of appointments, all equally important for international ranking lists and especially for the accumulation of points needed for Olympic qualification. Of course, the famous Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, France, the European Championship in Turkey and, above all, the World Championship organised on the Poetto beach in Cagliari, Sardinia, stand out.

Formula Kite appointments between Europe, South America and China

Here is a list of the main stages of the Formula Kite circuit:

• 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Palma: 28 March - 05 April - Pastilla, Spain
• Salinas Fest: 02 April - Salinas del Rey, Colombia
• Semaine Olympique Francaise Hyeres: 19 - 25 April - Hyeres, France
• Men's and Woman Formula Kite European Championships: 11 - 19 May - Urla, Turkey
• Kiel Week: 21 - 25 June - Heidkate, Germany
• IKA Youth (U21/U17/U15) European Championships: 30 June - 06 July - Gizzeria, Calabria, Italy
• Formula Kite Grand Slam China: 26 - 31 August - Pingtan North Beach, China
• Masters World Championships: 10 - 14 September - location to be determined
• Men's and Women's Formula Kite World Championships: 27 September - 05 October - Poetto Beach, Sardinia, Italy
• IKA Youth (U21/U17/U15) World Championships: 26 October - 01 November - Praia da Vitoria
• Sailing Youth (U19) World Championships: 13 - 20 December - Vilamoura, Portugal

In short, what awaits us is a season of exciting competitions, at a high technical level and as we have seen, also full of novelties. Good luck to all the boys and girls who will be competing in the water and happy kitesurfing to all!

Photo credit

Photo 1: GKA KITE WORLD TOUR

Photo 2: GKA KITE WORLD TOUR

Photo 3: FORMULA KITE CLASS

Photo 4: FORMULA KITE CLASS